Blood In The Water
by QueenOfSerpents27
Summary: S2-?. Aurora Heart, an outcast on the Ark, was sent down to Earth as one of the 100. Taken from her friends and straight to the Commander, she must figure out why her blood is the reason she's still alive in order to protect those she loves. Even if it means choosing the side of the enemy. Lexa/OFC fanfic. Slightly AU. Nightblood!OC. STORY IS CURRENTLY BEING CHANGED.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Starts around episode 6 of season 2.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _ONE:_ _Captured_**

" _Keep moving_."

A hand pushes her forward and makes her stumble slightly until she manages to make herself stand right while she tries to listen for any kind of detail that could tell her where she was. How far did they take her? Wasn't there a creek a mile back? _Dammit..._ She thinks to herself, wishing she was as good at observation as Finn. Rory was more concerned about where her friends were. She wanted to know if they managed to win against Anya's army...or if they died. The grounder behind her grabs her shoulder before she hears him speaking with someone, another Grounder probably. They escort her through a building and stop once again.

" _Throw her in there and tie her up._ "

A squeaky door opens and the bag is taken off her head as she's pushed inside. A bulkier grounder comes in to look her up and down before ordering the one who captured her to take off her jacket. He rips it off her before she can protest as the taller one comes over and chains her up to cuffs extending from the ceiling. The girl finally gets a look around the cell as she takes notice of the dry blood coated on the walls. The sight causes her to grip onto the chains before she sees the knives and other devices to the corner to her right. Were they planning on torturing her?

" _Let the Commander know that we captured another one. Tell her that this one is from the ship that came before._ " The one who brought her in tells the warriors stationed outside the room. She wished she understood what they were saying, but could only watch as they leave her with the taller one and her captor. The smaller grounder starts to move towards the knives when the taller one stops him by grabbing his arm. This makes the grounder angry so he shrugs off the taller one's hand before he grabs the first knife he lays his eye on and walks over to the girl before glancing back to the taller one. The grounder holds the knife against the girl's forearm then digs it in deep as he slices the blade across her skin without looking.

The taller one glares at the grounder cutting her when he switches sides and does the same thing again. The girl withholds each cry of pain until tears start rolling down her cheeks as he continues to cut her on each side. She bites her lip hard enough to draw blood as she struggles to lean away from the grounder which only makes him angrier. A hard fist collides with her jaw that held more strength in it than he had meant to push through. Blood starts to run out of her nose as he does it again and again. She starts to taste copper in her mouth when he moves to punch her gut three times and she lets out a cry of pain.

" _Keep crying, little girl._ " By the way his voice sounded, she could tell he was taunting her.

" _Kieran, that's enough. The Commander would have your head._ " The taller grounder says, grabbing the smaller one's arm again.

" _No, she won't, Gustus._ " The smaller one says as he pays no attention to the black liquid seeping out of her veins. " _She's just a weak sky girl and one of the ones who helped kill our warriors._ " The smaller one lifts up the girl's shirt slightly before he makes two more cuts on her abdomen. The girl doubles over in pain as more tears fall down her cheeks. The grounder is only fueled by her obvious display of weakness as he kneels down and creates two more on her left leg before digging the knife into her right thigh until there was no more blade to go in, making her scream. He takes it out but the grounder stops after he finally notices the black liquid flowing down her stomach when the girl falls down to her knees. He then looks at her arms and his eyes widen. His bloody knife falls to the ground as his surprise causes him to stop hurting the girl.

" _Natblida…_ " The two grounders in the room mumble to themselves as they watch the girl bleed.

The cell door opening makes both the taller one and smaller snap their heads towards it as a girl who looked to be around Rory's age walks in. " _What do you think you're doing, Lieutenant?_ " The green-eyed girl asks, not paying any attention to the dark-haired girl. As Rory examined her appearance, the red sash connected to her shoulder guard told her that she held some sort of power.

" _Her blood, Commander…_ " The smaller one points to the girl.

She sees the black liquid and Rory could have sworn she saw the smallest sliver of surprise in her eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. "O _ut. I wish to speak with her alone._ " The girl with the red sash says, waiting as everyone scrambles out of the cell.

Once they were alone, the girl with the red sash comes closer, "What is your name?" She watches Rory move away slightly, fearful that she might torture her as well.

The chained girl was hesitant to answer, "R-Rory…" She speaks quietly.

"Are there others like you?" The girl asks, beginning to pace in front of her.

Rory furrows her brow, "Others...like me?" She asks, confused.

"Nightbloods." The girl says.

"I don't…" Rory then glances where the other girl was looking at the knife on the ground still coated in her blood and realizes what she was talking about, "No...I'm the only one." She says, casting her gaze away. The subject of her oddly-colored blood was a sore subject.

The other girl nods, not asking any more questions, before she calls the tall grounder back inside, " _Take her down and put her with the other two. She is not to be harmed. Understood?_ " She orders him, walking towards the cell entrance.

" _Yes, Commander._ " The tall grounder says as she walks past him out of the cell.

He walks over to the girl and ignores her attempts at moving away as she becomes frightened until he unchains her. The grounder picks her up when he sees she couldn't walk then he takes her out of the cell to another five doors down from where she had been. The girl catches sight of two faces she recognizes but no relief flows through her at seeing her faces. The grounder opens the door and carries her inside to set her down against the wall slowly. She notices that he makes no move to chain her up like the other two were. The grounder soon leaves which prompts Marcus Kane to be the first to speak up. "Aurora? Are you okay?" He becomes overly concerned about the girl when he sees the cuts and notices a bruise starting to form on her jaw.

Rory narrows her eyes at the use of her real name but fights against yelling at the man for using it as she nods slightly while trying to hide her pain, "Just a few scratches." They both look at her like she was crazy after seeing the deep cuts all across her body, "Okay fine, I feel like shit. Fuck, Murphy wasn't kidding about how cruel they are."

"Maybe peace isn't an option if they're torturing our people, Marcus." Jaha says as he starts to break a stick he picked up off the ground.

Marcus shakes his head, "No. I still have to believe that we can live in peace." He says to Jaha.

Rory lets out a small laugh at the sound of his words. "You sound like Clarke and Finn, Kane." The seventeen-year-old girl cradles her stomach in pain when she tries to get more comfortable. Whatever Marcus had to say was cut short when the cell door opens again. Marcus stands abruptly as the grounder that carried her in walks inside with a few other warriors. Rory notices that he was wearing the red sash that the girl was which causes her to furrow her brow. The warriors all glance at Rory with the same look of curiosity before the taller grounder orders them to go over to Jaha. They start picking him up before punching him and Marcus tells them to stop but they don't listen.

"We came in peace." Marcus states as he looks over to the warriors still beating Jaha before turning back to the main grounder, "We came in peace! Please!" He says more sternly.

Rory watches as they stop and hold Jaha up as the grounder looks over at a girl behind him that the dark-haired girl immediately recognized, "You speak of peace while you send an assassin into one of my villages." The tall grounder says.

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asks, confused as he steps forward.

The grounder ignores his question as his eyes glance between him and Rory. "Blood must have blood." He looks to Jaha before taking out his knife and pointing it towards the two men. "One of you will die. Here. Today. By the others hand. I will hear the terms of your surrender from the man who lives." He drops the knife onto the floor before turning to the girl who had just entered the cell.

" _Fetch us when it's done._ " He moves to leave.

Marcus steps forward again but is stopped by the chain around his ankle. "And what about her?" He motions over to Rory who had been wondering the same. "Does she have to be a part of this? She's just a kid." He says, hoping that the grounder would see reason.

The grounder looks over his shoulder to see who Marcus was speaking of and shakes his head immediately. "She is a Natblida. No one will touch her. And no harm will come to her. Not even from either of you, or we would have your head." He glances over at the girl that came in who nods silently.

"What do you mean?" Marcus asks, wondering what the word meant.

However, the grounder ignores him as he leaves which makes both Marcus and Jaha glance down at the blade before looking at each other. Rory moves her attention to the other girl in the room when she pretends to limp over to her with a bowl in hand. Rory went to stop her, to tell the girl that she didn't have to but the girl dips a cloth into the water before reaching up to clean Rory's wounds. The green-eyed girl focuses on cleaning her deepest wound, the one on her right thigh, and wraps a tight bandage around it. Rory felt uneasy that the girl who stopped her torture was there with them, but she doesn't speak up about it as the green-eyed girl stares at her as if daring her to actually say something.

As she lets the girl tend to her wounds, Marcus and Jaha sit back down in defeat, "Why did they call you that, Aurora?" Jaha asks.

"Don't ask me." Rory shrugs, just as confused as the other two, "And don't call me that." She blurts out with a glare she sends to the Chancellor and glances away from Jaha when he goes to apologize. They leave it be after that and Rory calms down enough to find her thoughts going back to what they called her. Just what did Natblida mean? She felt like asking the girl cleaning her wounds, but she also had a feeling that she'd get no answer in return. Marcus starts to rub at his ankle again while he tries to get the cuff off and only succeeds in drawing more blood from his tender skin. Rory watches him struggle until the girl was done as she limps back over to the wall across from her.

Marcus and Jaha both suddenly look back at the knife, "They want us to turn on each other." Jaha says to Marcus.

"They want justice." The girl finally speaks up.

Marcus grows angry, "Lives have been lost on both sides." The girl looks at him, almost ready to attack if need be, "That's why we need to end. This. War!" He takes off his jacket and throws it towards the cell door, making the girl flinch.

Rory notices which makes her glare at the man. "Hey, dial it down a notch?" She suggests to Marcus before nodding over to the other girl as she becomes uneasy after he was done. Even if she had been faking it, she could see his outburst certainly surprised her.

Marcus sighs before grabbing his boot to put it back on, sliding the cuff up his leg while Jaha gets up to walk over to the girl, "What's your name?" Jaha asks as he squats down next to her.

She doesn't reply right away and then looks at him from the corner of her eye, "Lexa." The girl says.

"Lexa." Jaha repeats and he watches her for a moment, "I'm Thelonious." He then turns to point at Marcus and Rory, "And this is Marcus and Rory." Rory was glad he didn't say her real name again but she doesn't show it as she starts absentmindedly playing with her necklace, "Your Commander spoke of an assassin in..in a village?"

"Yes." Lexa spoke softly while Jaha narrows his eyes, "Eighteen of our people were murdered. Elders. Children." Her words make Jaha furrow his brows and look at Marcus.

Marcus sits forward and faces her, "We had nothing to do with that." He says.

"It doesn't matter. The Commander thinks you did." Lexa looks at Jaha, "One of you must pick up the knife." She pauses, "That is our way."

"And if we refuse?" Jaha asks.

Lexa looks at him, "Then the Commander will use it to slit both of your throats." She says.

Marcus glances over to Rory, "And why not her? Why did your Commander call her a...um.." He struggles to say the word.

"Natblida." Lexa finishes for him.

"Yes. What does that mean?" Marcus asks.

Lexa doesn't reply, not wanting to tell them one of the secrets of their culture. Rory sighs and hits her head against the wall softly while wishing that these grounders weren't so stubborn. She stares at the ceiling in thought as she wonders if the others were all right. She was worried about Raven the most since the older girl was practically her sister but also because of the state that the mechanic was in from being shot. A cold breeze passes through the cell that makes her shiver and Marcus is the first to notice. He gets up, grabbing his jacket before putting it over her.

She mumbles her thanks as he sits back down and looks over at the knife, "This has gone on long enough. There has to be another way to resolve this." Jaha says when he moves from leaning against the wall and stands next to Marcus, "Something we haven't thought of yet."

"There isn't." Lexa states, making Jaha look over at her.

"She's right. They're not budging." Marcus says.

Jaha leans down to whisper, "We can offer a trade. These people are primitive. I've seen how they live. Our technology, our medicine. All we'd ask for in return is peace." He suggests, hoping the man before him would agree.

Marcus looks at him, "If we truly want peace...they told us how to get it." He says.

"Through murder?" Jaha says, nodding over to the knife.

"Through sacrifice…" Marcus whispers.

Marcus stands and walks over to the knife, leaning down to pick it up as he stares at it, "Marcus. What are you doing?" Jaha asks.

"If we don't make a choice...then we'll both die." Marcus looks over to Lexa, "And the killing won't end." He holds the knife in front of him before standing up and turning to Jaha, "There's only one way out of this." Jaha stands up as Marcus walks towards him before holding the hilt end of the knife out to him, "You have to kill me."

Rory stares at Marcus for a few seconds before looking at the knife, "You're going to sacrifice yourself?" Her question causes him to glance over to her.

He nods and looks back at Jaha, "You have to do this. It's our only choice." He urges him to take the knife.

However, the man shakes his head instead, "Kane, no." Jaha says.

"They respect strength. Let's show them ours." Marcus states, still trying to get Jaha to take it.

"I said, no." Jaha then lets out a sigh, "You did not order the massacre."

Marcus lets out a laugh, "Not that one." He says, referring to the ones they killed off before the flares were sent to signal that the 100 were still alive.

"Marcus, you don't need redemption. The choice we made on the Ark was about survival. We did what we had to so that the human race could survive." Jaha tries to make him see reason.

"The human race was already surviving." Marcus says.

"Then we did it for our people." Jaha says.

"Yes, and now we must do this." Jaha only shakes his head at Marcus's words, "It's the only way." Marcus says.

"Not gonna happen." Jaha continues to stand his ground.

"You're a good man, Thelonious." Marcus steps back, "I won't let you die for me." He proceeds to slit his wrist.

"Marcus, no!" Both Jaha and Rory move to Marcus as he falls and lets go of the knife while Jaha tells Rory to keep pressure on the wound before he looks at Lexa, "Help us, please." She doesn't move, "Please." Lexa looks over at Rory who pleads with her eyes before Lexa grabs one of the bandages.

"Come on, please." Jaha asks as Lexa limps over to them and hands him the bandage, "Thank you." He takes it and Rory removes her hand so he could start wrapping Marcus's wrist, "I told you, we didn't come all this way to die." Jaha says to Marcus before he looks up at Lexa, grabs the knife, and seizes her as he holds the blade to her neck.

"Thelonious, no." Marcus says while Rory stands up.

"Jaha, stop. You don't know what you're doing." Rory limps over to him, the wounds on her legs reopening with every movement as she winces.

"I choose to live!" He yells at Rory and Marcus.

The guard hurries to open the door and the grounder from before comes running in, "Take off these chains." Jaha orders them while Marcus stands up.

"Thelonious, please. She's just an innocent girl." He tries to get Jaha to let her go while Rory stands off to the side, glancing between the grounder and Lexa.

" _He made his choice._ " Lexa speaks up in the grounder language, " _This one's mine._ " Rory didn't like the sound of her tone and she finds out why when Lexa hits Jaha's face, making him lean over before she grabs his arm to pin him down as she disarms him. She holds the knife to his throat while he looks at her with a newfound fear.

"Okay." Jaha nods and holds his hand up in surrender.

Lexa looks over to Marcus before getting up off of Jaha and taking the headband out of her hair, " _I've heard what I needed to hear._ " She tells the three grounders standing by the door.

" _Yes, Commander._ " They bow to her as she throws the headband into the corner and turns to face Marcus and Jaha.

Marcus stares at her as the grounder and another take the knife while they put the red sash on her from before, "You're the Commander?" He asks as she buckles the sash.

Lexa stalks forward, "I have learned much about you. It's clear your intentions are honorable. Your desire for peace is true." Marcus nods in agreement, "Free him." She orders as a warrior comes to them with keys in hand, "Later we will talk. In the meantime, your friend will be used to send a message."

"No." Marcus says as the grounder that frees him holds a knife at his throat while two more enter, "No, stop." They start to beat Jaha again, "Stop! Stop, please!"

Rory steps forward then and pushes the two warriors away from Jaha, "Stop! He had no intention of harming your Commander! He wants peace just as much as Kane." The warriors glance over at Lexa who nods.

The warriors then grab Jaha, hoisting him up while the warrior that held onto Marcus lets him go and the other two watch as Jaha is dragged out of the cell, "The massacre must be answered. Blood must have blood." Lexa says as Marcus continues to watch Jaha go.

Lexa turns to the grounder from before and the guard standing next to him, " _The Sky Nightblood rides with us. Let the army know we march to the Sky People's camp._ " She orders the two, leaving with the guard while the taller one nods and bows to her.

Rory tries to move away as the grounder comes to her, "Wait, no-" Marcus speaks up and tries to stop him, but the grounder simply shrugs him off.

The grounder grabs her arm and drags her towards the cell door, "Kane!" She yells and struggles against the grounder's grip until they arrive outside.

Several warriors were packing up around the village and shouting at each other in their language. Rory only stops struggling as the grounder makes her stand in front of a large tent. They wait for a while with the grounder holding her at attention as she glances around at the warriors running about in a hurry until the tent flap opens. A dark-skinned female warrior walks out with a glare and she looks Rory up and down before sneering. The warrior walks away to start saddling up her horse awaiting her nearby. The tent flap opens once more as Lexa walks out, this time she wore clothing that made her look more like the title of a Commander. Rory also notices the face paint and growing uneasy again under the Commander's gaze when she approaches her and the other grounder.

" _She rides with you._ " Lexa tells the grounder who nods as she turns her attention to Rory, "You will ride with Gustus while we march to the rest of your people." The Commander leaves then as a warrior brings her horse to her.

Rory doesn't say a word even as Gustus brings her over to his horse and helps her up, getting on after her.

Not even as the army then leaves the village.

* * *

The warriors that took Jaha leave him on the outskirts of the Sky People's camp and watch Jaha scramble up the hillside before they disappear, "Help!" He yells, but there was no answer, "Help me!" He tries again as he hears talking above and two guards from the Ark rush over to him with their weapons drawn.

"Show us your hands." The guard orders as Jaha stands up.

He faces the people, showing his hands and walks by the guard, "Stand down." He says, pushing the weapon away.

He walks over to Abby and Clarke, "Thelonious?" Abby asks in disbelief as he walks slightly past her and falls to his knees while looking at the Ark.

"I have a message...from the Commander." He pauses to catch his breath while Clarke glances at him, "Leave...or die." Jaha closes his eyes as he continues to breathe heavily, "We have two days. And Clarke..." Abby and Clarke exchange a look before the blonde leans down next to him as he opens his eyes and grabs her arm, "They have Rory."

Clarke immediately stands up and looks at her mom.

What did they want with Rory?

 **A/N: Let me know what you think!**

 **Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 _ **TWO:**_ _ **Choice**_

Rory pulls Marcus's jacket closer to her body as the Grounder army trecks alongside the horse she sat on with Gustus. Not too far ahead was Lexa being flanked by the warrior that had tortured her as well as the dark-skinned warrior who kept glancing back at the girl in a clear show of mistrust. _Why are they not killing me?...I don't get any of this..._ Rory thinks to herself as she watches the trees pass by them on the side of the path. Gustus didn't speak much, but Rory had managed to get him to tell her how long it would take to get to the camp.

'Two days.' He had told her, but that was 32 hours ago. They had only stopped once to camp where they made her stay in a tent that was heavily guarded and no one had let her out of their sight when she came out. It irritated her to no end that she gets no answers as to why they're keeping her and yet they answer everything else she asks. Rory is taken out of her thoughts when she notices the warriors starting to light torches as sunset is upon them. They hand one to Gustus and their march continues until the scouts ahead yell to them, making several others run toward the sound.

"We're here." Gustus speaks while the rest of the army follows behind quickly.

As the horse they sat on climbs the hill and stops next to Lexa's, Rory was taken aback at the sight of the Ark grounded. She had seen it come down before but actually being this close was another story. She could slightly make out the figures of people in the darkness behind the chain-link fences that had been set up around it. No doubt the doing of the adults. Lexa orders the warriors to make camp before leading Gustus and Rory further down the hill where her tent would be.

She gets off her horse and stops a warrior, " _The Sky Nightblood's tent will be near mine and set up two guards outside again_." He nods and bows to his Commander.

Gustus overhears the conversation as he gets off the horse to help Rory down as she winces. Her wounds had still not healed but they were getting better with whatever their healers had continued to rub on them. There was nothing they could do for her bruised jaw or abdomen, of course. She ignores her pain and keeps her eyes locked on the people beyond the fence, hoping she could make out some faces or even find her friends among the growing crowd. Sadly, it was impossible to this far during the night.

Lexa notices her looking at the Ark and turns to her, "Rory." She says, making the dark-haired girl glance over at her. "Come."

Rory limps behind Lexa into the big tent that had been set up for the Commander ahead of their arrival, "Are you really going to attack them?" She asks, hoping that it would be a no.

But her hopes weren't answered, "Your people must pay for what they've done." Lexa states as she stares at a table nearby with a map.

Rory looks around the tent for a moment, "And what about me? I am at fault as much as they are. I helped Clarke kill the army you sent to kill us." She lies and hopes that Lexa would take the bait. She wasn't even a part of the whole fight that transpired between Anya and Clarke since the latter herself didn't want her anywhere near it, "Why won't you kill me too?" She asks, wanting to finally get an answer.

Lexa sighs and turns to look at Rory, "You ask too many questions, _Natblida_." She leaves the tent then, making the dark-haired girl roll her eyes in annoyance. _Fucking Grounders and their stubbornness._ Rory limps over to the farthest corner of the tent and sits down with a huff, running her fingers over the bandage around her leg. The black blood seeping through it makes Rory look away with disgust. Her blood was the reason everyone outcasted her. And now the Grounders wanted her for it. Why? It didn't look like she would be getting an answer anytime soon. Her head pops up when Gustus comes in and walks over to her, offering his hand. Rory takes it with a wince as he helps her up before they walk out of the tent over one close by. He leads her inside before leaving her alone with a huff. She looks around and takes notice that it was much like the other tent they had given to her. A somewhat bed was in the corner covered by fur blankets and a table sat by it. A chair was also there. She sits down in said piece of furniture, not trusting the bed entirely. The silence begins to eat away at her as she wishes she had never left the dropship.

By the next morning, Rory had been awoken by Gustus when he comes in to tell her that her people wished to speak with the Commander and that she wanted her to be there when Clarke arrived. So there she was, standing at Lexa's side, as the blonde walks in and Rory feels relief flow through her after she sees that Clarke was okay. She moves to go hug her but the dark-skinned warrior standing next to her stops her by grabbing her wrist and shakes her head.

"So you're the one who burned three hundred of my warriors alive." Lexa says as she twirls the same knife that was given to Marcus and Jaha in her hands.

Clarke glances over to Rory then back to Lexa, "You're the one who sent them there to kill us." Clarke replies as she swallows when Lexa looks up at her, afraid that if she did something wrong they would hurt her dark-haired friend.

Lexa digs the knife into her throne and holds onto the hilt, "Do you have an answer for me, Clarke of the Sky People?" The Commander asks.

"I've come to make you an offer." Clarke says instead of answering.

Rory glances over at Lexa, "This is not a negotiation." The Commander states as the dark-skinned warrior decides to speak up.

" _Let me kill her and get this over with._ " Lexa holds her hand up to stop the warrior from talking anymore.

"I can help you beat the Mountain Men." Clarke says.

"Go on." Lexa tells her, putting the knife on top of one of her crossed legs with the blade across her thigh.

"Hundreds of your people are trapped inside Mount Weather. Kept in cages. Their blood is used as medicine." Clarke tells her.

"How do you know this?" The Commander questions as Rory wonders what her friend is trying to do.

"Because I saw them. My people are prisoners there too. I was one of them." Clarke says.

"Lies." The dark-skinned warrior pauses, "No escapes the mountain."

"I did." Clarke states before looking back to Lexa, "With Anya. We fought our way out together."

"Another lie. Anya died in a fire. You killed her." The warrior says.

Clarke sighs before she remembers something and reaches into her pocket, all the warriors in the room reach for their weapons until she pulls a lock of hair out, "She told me you were her Second. I'm sure she'd want you to have this." She hands it over to Lexa and the Commander takes it, running her fingers along the hair.

"We don't know it's hers." The dark-skinned warrior says, looking at Lexa.

" _Quiet, Indra_." Lexa says as she continues to look it over, "Anya was my mentor before I was called to lead my people." Clarke nods at her words before Lexa places the hair on the throne's arm closest to Rory, "Did she die well?"

"She's...still alive." Clarke answers, "My people are healing her, but she got us to the Ark. She was trying to get a message to you."

"What message?" Lexa asks sternly.

"The only way to save both our people is to join together." Clarke says.

"Those who are about to die will say anything." Indra speaks up again.

Lexa chooses to ignore her again, making Rory steal a glance at the warrior who simply sighs, "I'm still waiting for an offer, Clarke." Lexa states.

Clarke takes a deep breath, "The Mountain Men are turning your people into Reapers." She pauses, "I can turn them back."

"Impossible." Indra keeps her eyes on Clarke, " _Commander, I beg you to let me kill her._ " She says in their language.

"I've done it. With Lincoln." Clarke hurries to prove her point.

Indra steps forward with her hand on her sword while Lexa calls her name but she ignores her, "That traitor is the reason my village was slaughtered by your people." She tells Clarke.

" _Enough_!" Rory flinches when Lexa yells and stands.

Indra stares at Clarke before walking away to stand to her left as Lexa steps up to Clarke, "You say you can turn Reapers back into men?" She asks the blonde.

Clarke nods, "Yes." She says.

"Then prove it." Lexa says, "Show me Lincoln."

Rory glances between the two as Clarke agrees before she looks over at her friend, "On one condition." Lexa notices that Clarke was looking at Rory.

"No." Lexa steps closer to Clarke to assert her authority, "The Natblida stays in this camp where she belongs. With her people."

Lexa is already out of the tent with Gustus and Indra before Clarke could reply, "What does she mean?" The blonde turns to Rory, concerned, but sees that the other girl was just as confused about it as she was.

"It's nothing, Clarke. Just...go save our people." Rory limps over to Clarke and hugs her tightly. They separate just as the Commander calls Clarke's name and the blonde leaves. Rory sighs when she does, not sure what to do until they return.

(an hour later)

When Lexa and the others return, Rory had been sitting on the steps by her throne. Clarke and the Commander walk in which makes her stand up slowly while she balances on her left leg as much as she could. The blonde moves to approach Rory, concerned about her leg but is stopped by Gustus who stands in between the two. Clarke glances over at Lexa who nods to the warrior to let the blonde through to see the dark-haired girl. She moves over to her friend and has her sit back down on the steps.

"What happened?" Clarke asks while prodding the bandage but Rory doesn't answer, "Did they..?" She doesn't finish as the dark-haired girl glances over to Lexa.

Fury fills Clarke and she moves to yell at Lexa until Rory grabs her arm, "It's already done, Clarke. Besides, you can't exactly win against Lexa or any of them." She whispers to Clarke.

"Fine. But I'm getting you out of here the first chance I get." Clarke whispers to her and Rory shakes her head in protest.

"They'll kill you before-"

"Clarke." Lexa speaks as she interrupts the conversation between the two, making the blonde get up with a glance towards Rory as she joins the Commander's side, "Lincoln's recovery was...impressive." She places her hand on the hilt of her sword out of habit, "No one's ever survived such a fate before."

"It's not complicated, really. We just have to keep them alive long enough for the drug to leave their system. I know we can do the same for others." Clarke says as Rory gets up, moving to stand at the blonde's right.

Lexa moved along the table until she was across from them and nods, "You may have your truce." She says.

Clarke smiles in relief and sighs, "Thank you." She says.

"I just need one thing in return." Lexa states.

"Tell me." Clarke says, willing to give anything to keep the peace.

"Deliver me the one you call Finn." Clarke narrows her eyes in confusion at her words as she looks over to Rory, "Our truce begins...with his death." Lexa pauses as she looks to Rory, "And if he is not delivered to us, then your friend here will pay for it. Regardless if she is a Natblida."

Clarke says nothing as she turns to leave, not seeing the warriors lighting candles as nightfall is upon them. Rory kept her eyes trained on the map but she wasn't paying attention to the details or the lines that made the forest and other lands beyond. She doesn't even notice that someone was calling her name. They want Finn...dead? Why? She couldn't let him die. Finn was her best friend. The thought alone made it so she didn't even care that they would hurt her if Clarke wouldn't give Finn to the Grounders.

A hand on her shoulder turns her towards the Commander, "Rory!" Lexa speaks softly as the dark-haired girl notices everyone was gone, "Are you alright?"

Rory then looks up at Lexa as tears gather in her eyes, "Why do you want to kill Finn?" She asks, hurt and still confused.

Lexa's gaze suddenly softens for a moment before she hides it with a stern glance, "He must pay for what he did. For killing the eighteen villagers." The Commander watches as Rory shakes her head as wetness starts to coat her cheeks.

"No...no, that's not Finn. He doesn't kill people. Never has." Rory says in disbelief.

"The scouts were not mistaken. Finn is the one who killed them." Lexa replies.

Rory lets out a breath as she rushes outside, ignoring Lexa's calls for her.

 _Liars..._

Morning rolls by and Rory hadn't slept a bit. She had been away from the camp all night, sitting against a tree with her head tucked into her knees while ignoring the searing pain in her leg that started after running away from Lexa. She didn't want to believe what the brunette had told her but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it to be true. Why did he kill them? What made him do it? She runs a hand down her face before she jumps when the Grounders start chanting and beating drums. Rory gets up to see what was going on as she spots a guard escorting Marcus towards the treeline across the field. She runs to catch up, not caring about her leg. The guard turns to her as well as Marcus who was filled with relief upon seeing the young girl.

"Kane, what's going on?" Rory asks over the loud chanting.

Marcus sighs as he puts his hand on her shoulder, "I bought us time. You need to stay by the Commander's side. She's the only one you can trust here to get you out. Things could get ugly." He turns to leave but Rory stops him and starts to take off his jacket, "Keep it." He says.

She watches him go, but makes no move to be by the Commander's side as he told her to be. A horn is blown when Marcus disappears and the chanting suddenly stops. Rory spots the riders that went with Clarke returning two minutes later. They get off their horses before nodding at her, making Rory raise her brows at their backs as they walk away. _The hell was that?..._ Rory thinks to herself until she's brought out of her stupor when someone clears their throat beside her.

She finds Lexa stood to her left with her hands behind her back, "Walk with me." She gestures towards the treeline furthest away from them but Rory doesn't answer and limps beside her as the Commander takes lead, "I'm sorry that your lover has to die."

Rory furrows her brows before letting out a small laugh, "He's...not my boyfriend." She cringes at the thought of Finn and her being...together.

"I had only assumed because of how you acted…" Lexa trails off, wondering just what this boy meant to the girl.

The dark-haired girl glances down at the ground before looking over to Lexa, "He's like family to me, Raven too. He and Raven were both there for me, always." Rory pauses with a sigh, "No matter what...they're the only family that I have."

"And your real parents?" Lexa questions.

Rory narrows her eyes and turns to glare at the Commander as they stop, "Why do you care? We just met and now all you want to do is kill one of the only people I trust." She steps closer to Lexa, "And you won't even give me a straight answer about why I'm still alive!"

The dark-haired girl turns to leave, "Rory-" Lexa moves to stop her.

"Don't." Rory tells her as she marches away to her tent, not noticing that Lexa was watching her walk away.

Rory remains in her tent for the rest of the day even as night rolls around and she hears the Grounders hammering nails into wood. The girl rushes outside to see them placing a pole in the ground while she tilts her head to the side. _What are they...?_ She looks over to the Ark and spots Clarke among the faces watching. She tries to look for Finn but couldn't see him until her eyes land on one of the tents that had one too many guards stationed at it.

The girl sneaks into the crowds around her until she makes her way behind the guards and slips inside from the back of the tent to see her best friend tied to a poll, "Sparky?" Finn questions with a growing smile at the sight of his friend, having thought she died in the fire at the dropship, "What are you doing here?"

Rory's lips quirk into a smile at her nickname before she tackles him into a hug, "I don't know. They won't give me any straight answers." She pulls back slightly, "Finn, I'm so sorry…" Tears start to form.

Finn shakes his head, "It's okay. I did this. Now I have to pay for it to save you, Raven, our people...everyone." He gives her a brighter smile, "Don't apologize for my mistake." Rory was about to reply when she hears shouting outside and Finn hurries to tell her something, "Listen, don't do anything reckless to try and get me out, sparky. I know how you are."

"But I-" Rory starts to say until footsteps start appraoching the tent.

"Go." Finn whispers.

She comes out the way she went in before she blends into the crowd again as they bring Finn out. Rory tries her best to keep up with them until she notices Clarke speaking with the Commander. She doesn't understand what they're saying from this far but it looked like the blonde was trying to plead with Lexa to let Finn go. By the time that Finn had been chained to the pole, the Grounders were ready to give him his punishment until Lexa lets Clarke pass to say goodbye to Finn. As Clarke comes towards Rory, she notices the blonde taking something about of her sleeve.

Without a second thought and understanding what she was going to do, Rory stops Clarke by hugging her before taking the scalpel, "Go back to the others." She whispers to Clarke as she hides the weapon in the jacket she wore.

"But Finn-" Clarke starts.

Rory feels tears flowing down her face as she closes her eyes and lets out a breath, "Let me be the one to do it…" Clarke freezes at those words but found herself nodding instead of arguing as she lets Rory go.

The dark-haired girl watches the blonde leave as she mentally prepares herself for what she was about to do. Though, that was impossible as she turns around and to look at Finn, immediately hugging him as sobs begin to shake her body. "Sparky…" Her nickname falling from his lips only makes the situation worse but he knew what was going to happen, having seen the exchange between her and Clarke, "It's okay." Rory only answers him with more sobs as Finn continues to repeat himself. She closes her eyes and positions her hand at his gut before pushing the scalpel into his skin. Her grey eyes remain on the wood of the pole in front of her as she feels her friend smile against her shoulder. Rory sniffles when more tears fall, but her sobs had seized altogether.

"Thanks, Rory."

Warm liquid coats her hands as she pulls away from him and takes the scalpel out, watching as his chin falls to his chest after his last breath passes through his mouth. The Grounders all around her don't move as they stare at her bloody hand which was still holding onto the weapon she used. Rory couldn't look at Finn any longer so she turns away and meets Lexa's eyes. The Commander glances over to Finn's body before sighing, "It is done." Lexa yells out but none of the Grounders make a move or sound.

"NO!"

Rory glances up at the Ark when she hears Raven yell out. She doesn't look at her, afraid to face her other best friend's eyes, and instead glances down at the ground. She did what she had to.

To protect him from the Grounders.

 _A/N: Sparky is a name that was given to Rory at a younger age by her father when she expressed the intention of wanting to be a mechanic when she grows up._

 _Let me know what you think!_

 _Review, favorite, and follow! :)_

 _~QueenOfSerpents27~_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _THREE:_ _Sisters_**

She hadn't moved from her tent. She hadn't even washed the blood off her hands. _Finn_ 's blood. The thought made her curl into the darkest corner of her tent as tears still continued to fall down her face. Her sobs had stopped long ago but Rory was losing the will to cry any more than she already had. She ignored when Gustus came into the tent once, checking on her as Lexa had ordered him to. Eventually, the Commander herself enters the tent only to find herself almost staring at a brick wall with the way Rory was acting.

"Your people want you to join the meeting." Lexa still receives no answer from the girl who was faced away from her, "And Clarke refuses to leave until she sees you."

Rory laughs sarcastically, "Yeah right...she probably hates me now more than anyone…" She mumbles but still doesn't move.

With a sigh, Lexa turns to the tent entrance, " _Let her in._ " She orders the guards outside.

The tent flap opens up to reveal none other than Raven Reyes who glances around before limping over to her grief-stricken friend, "Oh sparky…" She whispers as she kneels down slightly and takes Rory's face in her hands.

"I killed him…" Rory says softly while Raven brings her into a hug, "You should hate me." Tears spill onto Raven's coat as the dark-haired girl buries her head in her shoulder.

"You did what you had to so he wouldn't suffer." Raven pulls away from Rory, brushing a lock of hair behind the girl's left ear, "I could never hate you, sparky. Remember? Sisters for life, right?" She holds up her pinkie to Rory.

Hot, wet tears spill out of Rory's eyes. "Ray...no...you should be yelling at me. Hitting me. Doing something." She looks up at Raven with hurt eyes. "Please don't say you forgive me...I don't deserve it…" More sobs escape Rory's lips. Raven felt angry that Rory thought all of this. Yes, she was angry that Rory had killed Finn but Clarke was ready to do it too. She had been madder at the blonde over her dark-haired friend. However, Clarke was their leader, so Raven couldn't do anything about it unless she wanted to face Abby. So of course, Rory would think the mechanic wanted to take her anger out on her. Rory's never been anything but an outcast to the rest of the Ark, nothing compared to Clarke in her own eyes. She believed she wasn't worth anything. That no one cared for her.

Except Rory was cared for, not only by Raven and Finn on the Ark but also by Abby, Clarke, Jake, Wells, anyone who she deemed worthy to spend her time with. At least that's what Raven thinks. Rory was a special kind of person that drew everyone in. She could gain the attention of an entire crowd in a split second and no one would believe it. A smile makes its way onto Raven's face. She got the name Sparky for a reason other than the fact that she became a mechanic, right? She knew Rory lived by the mantra 'you wear your heart on your sleeves' because that's exactly what she did. And it was the very same reason that Finn's death was tearing her up so much. Just like with her father. Raven knew that, in due time, her friend would be back to making jokes and pretending to be alright. So she just had to wait until then to tell her that killing Finn wasn't the wrong thing to do. She saved him.

Lexa watches their interaction before she speaks up and makes Raven's thought process stop, "Get her to come to the meeting." She turns to leave.

"Why?" Raven stands and steps up to Lexa, "Why do you people want her so badly?" She pushes.

"Raven. Don't." Rory answers for Lexa, "They won't even tell me." She says as Raven looks at her and the dark-haired girl gets up, "Don't worry, I'm coming." She wipes her face and sniffles.

Lexa nods at the two before leaving as they trail behind her to the tent that held everyone else. It was still nightfall and the Grounders were in the process of removing the pole where Finn once was. Rory stops to look as more tears threatened to spill from her eyes but Raven wraps her arm around the girl, keeping her moving. They enter the tent as Rory is immediately hugged by Clarke. The blonde separates from her with a sad smile, telling her she did the right thing. Then why did it feel like she hadn't?

"Now that we are all here, let's begin." Lexa turns to Clarke, Abby, and Marcus, "Blood has answered blood. Some on my side say that's not enough. They wanted the murderer to suffer as our tradition demands." She pauses, "But, they do not know that her suffering will be worse." Lexa refers to Rory before turning to the girl, "What you did tonight will haunt you until the end of your days." She turns back to Clarke as Rory looks down, "Still, there will be restitution. The body will be given to the people of TonDC. Murderer and murdered joined by fire. Only then can we have peace."

Marcus decides to speak up, "No, no we've done enough. The boy should be buried by his own people." He says.

"Enough? We were owed the pain of eighteen deaths. We were owed our righteous kill. My village deserves justice." Indra says with anger.

"You don't want justice. You want vengeance." Abby says.

Indra steps forward, "You have not seen my vengeance." She states, ready for a fight.

"We'll do it." Clarke interrupts their argument as everyone looks at her, "But when it's over, we talk about how to get our people out of Mount Weather. All of our people."

"We all want the same things, Clarke." Lexa says.

"Good." Clarke pauses, "When do we leave?"

"Now." Lexa states.

Lexa stands up, "Choose your attendants." She leaves as Rory is grabbed by Indra.

Raven squeezes Rory's hand in reassurance before letting go. The girl turns to Lexa when Indra releases her hold and notices the Commander staring at her, "What?" She asks.

"You gave him mercy." Lexa says, walking beside the girl.

Rory looks down, "He was my friend. I wasn't going to let him suffer and I wasn't going to let Clarke be blamed for it either. Too many people see her as a leader." The dark-haired girl chuckles sarcastically and shakes her head, "I'm just the outcast with the weird blood."

Lexa doesn't understand what she meant by 'outcast' but files the information away for later, "You did what you had to. He was your people." The girl looks up at her, "You did what a leader would. Not an...outcast." The Commander states before continuing to her horse.

Rory narrows her eyes, confused by what Lexa meant, "What a 'leader would do'? I'm no leader." She shakes her head, "Never have been."

Lexa looks over to her, "Then you should start being one." She climbs up onto the saddle.

Rory only stares at the Commander before she leaves her side as she shakes her head. _I could never..._ She walks around for a bit until Gustus comes to find her when the sun starts to poke out from behind the trees. She joins him on his horse as the army begins to march back the way they came; to the village they had held her in. She and Gustus ride next to Lexa this time while the Sky People walk in front so they could keep their eyes on them. The sun starts to shine while everyone makes their way down the path and Rory barely pays any attention to anyone even as her friends try to talk with her every once in a while. Something told her that what Lexa said earlier was true. That Finn's death would haunt her until the end of her days. Back on the Ark, her crime was the very same thing, arrested for murder, but that time she had not done it. She had been framed by a group of people she shouldn't have gotten involved with. And now she had... Shaking her head, Rory rubs her eyes when they start to close.

Gustus notices this and gets Lexa's attention, "You should rest, Natblida." The Commander suggests as she also sees the girl struggling to stay awake.

"No. I can't." Rory says, afraid of what might pass into her mind from her dreams after what she had done.

Lexa hears her answer but still pushes. "Sleep if you are tired. We aren't going to stop to camp for another twenty minutes." She looks over at Rory who only glances at the Commander before turning her eyes back in front of her. But it would seem that her body had other plans as she slumps forward while her eyes close shut. The last thing she felt before falling asleep was a pair of hands lifting her onto another horse.

" _I have you_."

 ** _A/N: This one was kinda short. Sorry about that. Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 **Some lines in this part (the one where Lexa tells Clarke about Costia) will be different. Since it's Rory instead of Clarke.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _FOUR:_ _Love is Weakness_**

When Rory sits up with a gasp from her nightmare, she notices she was inside a tent. She could tell it wasn't hers from how large the bed was and that the small curtains in front of her led into a larger part of the tent. Had they set up camp while she slept? Rory always was a heavy sleeper, so it made sense that she wouldn't have been woken up from any type of movement. The dark-haired girl swings her legs to hang over the side of the bed as she looks down at her hands. She could still remember the feeling of...of his blood soaking them. The way it was already drying on them as if wanting to remind her of what she had done forever. _Stop_...Rory rubs her eyes as tears begin to form before she shakes away her thoughts and gets up, walking out of the separate part of the tent. She stops when she catches sight of the great and mighty Commander Lexa sleeping on her throne; little snores coming out every once in a while.

 _She let me sleep on her bed?_...Rory walks over to Lexa and waves her hand in front of her face but the Commander didn't move a muscle. That's when Rory notices how calm and at peace she looked instead of always having that stony exterior planted on her face. She also notices the light hitting the tent as well as the people moving around outside. The girl swallows as she walks up the steps to Lexa's throne and shakes her shoulder slightly.

However, Lexa only shakes her off, "Leave me alone, Costia." She says in her sleep.

 _Who's Costia?_...Rory thinks to herself as she tries harder, "Lexa." She says, this being the first time she's spoken the Commander's real name.

Lexa slowly wakes up as her eyes land on Rory, "What?" She asks.

Rory struggles to come up with something until she remembers the light, "It's um...m-morning." She says, pointing to outside.

Two warriors come in then and Lexa nods as she sits up straight, " _Prepare the horses. We leave now._ " She orders them as she gets out of her throne.

Lexa glances over at Rory once before she leaves the tent with the girl trailing behind slowly. The Commander walks over to her white horse and Rory watches her people across from them. She waits for Gustus while Lexa is putting on her saddle but the Grounder had yet to show up among the crowds to retrieve her. Lexa looks at the girl with a frown as she climbs onto the horse then moves it to stand next to Rory. She holds her hand out to her and Rory looks at Lexa's hand then back up to her before she pushes down the strange feeling in her stomach to grab the hand, hoisting herself up to sit behind Lexa. She felt heat rush to her face when she spots her people looking at her and looks away from them so they wouldn't see how flustered the position was making her. The other Grounders pay no attention to the Commander and Rory as they finish packing up and begin their trek once more.

Clarke and Raven, one of which was sitting on the cart that held Finn's body, both look at her with questioning glances. From behind Lexa, Rory shakes her head telling them to leave it alone when her eyes finally spot the village she had been kept at. They approach the gate and Rory could feel eyes on her, more eyes than the ones in front of them.

" _Open the gate!_ " Someone yells as Gustus orders another Grounder to hold his horse before Lexa does and gets off as he moves behind them towards the Sky People. Another warrior helps Rory down then gives her a nod which makes the dark-haired girl confused to no end but she doesn't say anything in return and remains in her place as the horses are taken away.

"Weapons." Gustus tells the Sky People.

Lincoln walks forward and puts his knife in one of the baskets, "We need to disarm before we enter." Soon the others follow his example.

Gustus stops at Raven before taking out every knife she had hidden and the gun that was strapped on her shoulder. He then turns to the Commander once he was finished. " _Commander. All clear._ " He says and Lexa nods, turning away.

The Commander motions with her head towards Rory and neither Gustus, nor Indra, gave her an option to stay with her people as they make her stand between them. Rory sighs before stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket, walking along behind Lexa. Many Grounders greeted the Commander once she steps foot into the village but they grow angry when they catch sight of the Sky People behind them. The dark-haired girl wishes she could understand what they were saying as they start shouting. The villagers continue to even as they are stopped by a man in their path.

" _Sky People took everything from me; my wife, my child._ " The man says.

" _Move aside._ " Gustus orders him.

" _Murderers are not welcome here!_ " He states as Lexa stares at him.

She turns to Gustus and nods. He steps forward and delivers a right hook to the man, watching as he falls to the ground before getting on top of him and repeatedly punching his face in. Rory steps back in horror but Indra catches her.

"You must watch, Natblida." The dark-skinned warrior says, looking to the front when Clarke steps over to Lexa.

"Commander, stop him, please." Lexa makes no movement at her command, "They'll blame us for this too." Clarke pleads.

Lexa stays silent for a moment before sighing, " _Let him live._ " She orders as Gustus stops and gets off the man.

The Commander turns back to face the others, "The Sky People march with us now." Lexa pauses as she looks at the villagers, "Anyone who tries to stop that will pay with their life."

No one makes a move until Lexa is satisfied that they listened well enough. She turns back around to continue into the village but Clarke had used this opportunity to take Gustus's place beside Rory. The blonde grabs the dark-haired girl's hand and squeezes it, reassuring her that everything would be fine. The villagers take them over to a pyre they had built where the bodies of the victims lay covered in blankets. The Grounders lift Finn off of the cart and place him on top of the pyre as everyone gathers around while Lexa brings Rory over to stand beside her.

" _People of TonDC...In fire, we cleanse the pain of the past._ "

Lincoln translates Lexa's words to the Sky People and Rory overhears as Indra hands a torch to the Commander. Lexa looks at the brilliant flame for a moment before her eyes move to Rory. She hands the torch to the girl without a second thought as Rory looks between Lexa and the torch before she takes it, ignoring the whispers from the villagers behind her. She stares at the flames then at Finn's body until she leans forward and lights the pyre. The dark-haired girl clenches her other hand in a fist as she watches the wood crackle underneath the flames.

She suddenly lets out a shaky breath that causes her friends nearby to glance up at her, "In peace, may you leave the shore…" Lexa looks away from the pyre to Rory as she starts to speak, "In love...may you find the next…" A tear begins to make its way down Rory's face, "Safe passage on your travels until our final journey on the ground..." She swallows a lump in her throat and looks down, "...May we meet again."

"May we meet again."

The Sky People repeat after her as Raven begins to share her tears just before Rory throws the torch into the pyre and it lights the rest of it. She pays no attention to the people around her while she watches the bodies burn. Even as the fire dies out and she and Lexa were the last two left standing there. "I lost someone special to me too." Lexa doesn't know what came over her but she felt like she needed to tell the girl as Rory suddenly turns to her, "Her name was Costia. She was captured by the Ice Nation whose queen believed she knew my secrets. Because she was mine…" She pauses, "...they tortured her. Killed her. Cut off her head."

Rory looks up at Lexa as this morning played through her mind when she tried to wake up the Commander, "She was your lover?" She asks.

She nods, "I thought I'd never get over the pain. But I did." Lexa looks at Rory, "Finn won't be the last person you'll lose, Rory."

Silence passes over them for a moment, "He's not...the first person I've lost." Rory finally speaks, "When I was thirteen, my father died from an incurable disease. He and I weren't on the best of terms." The dark-haired girl pauses, "He was the first to find out about my blood. He was the one who outcasted me." She clenches her jaw, "And yet when I had been told about his condition, I didn't care if we were fighting or if he hated me, I was there by his side through it all. Abby tried to save him...but he just...passed away."

Lexa looks back to the remnants of the pyre, "Love is weakness." The Commander states.

Rory turns around before looking at Lexa, "Maybe, but it makes us strong." The dark-haired girl leaves her there without so much as another glance.

She is lead into a large room by a warrior that motions for her to stand a seat away from the Commander's. Lexa walks in and joins her alongside Gustus and Indra. Rory didn't know why she blurted out her father's death like that to someone she barely knew, but she found relief in having someone other than Raven know. Her thoughts consume her as they await the rest of Skaikru's arrival, since Lincoln and Octavia were already there, and Rory notices that Gustus was a little jumpy as well as tense. His eyes were strained on only one person, Raven. _Why is he looking at her like that?_... She thinks to herself. Marcus gives a bottle of moonshine to Lexa, which Gustus takes before handing it to her as she thanks him.

Her thought process is interrupted when Lexa clears her throat, "Clarke, let us drink together." The Commander suggests.

"It would be my pleasure." Clarke replies.

Two cups are handed to Gustus who places them on the table so Lexa could pour and she hands one to Clarke who holds it up, "Heda. Allow me." Gustus interrupts and takes the cup from his Commander, taking a sip.

He hands it back to her as she gazes upon the Sky People. "Tonight, we celebrate our newfound peace. Tomorrow, we plan our war." Lexa raises her cup, "To those we've lost. And to those we shall soon find." They were about to each take a drink until Gustus lurches forward, holding onto the table and knocking things over as he coughs. He begins to back away from the table to the wall as warriors come over to help him. One blurts out that it is poison and Rory turns to the others across from her, trying to see if one of them wasn't as surprised as everyone else. But they all looked just as surprised. Bellamy hits the cup out of Clarke's hand while Indra draws her sword before yelling and blaming the Sky People. The tables are pushed away as warriors draw their swords and Rory is put behind two men as she looks at Gustus struggling to breathe.

"It wasn't us! You have to know it wasn't!" Clarke yells to Lexa.

" _Do not let him die._ " Lexa orders the warrior closest to Gustus as more Grounders come and help him up.

"No. No. We didn't do this." Clarke says while Bellamy holds her back.

"Gustus warned me about you. But I didn't listen." Lexa stalks forward, her muscles bristling for a fight.

Rory glances around at the other Grounders as they begin to focus directly on the Sky People like a predator would to prey.

"Lexa, please." Clarke says while the Grounders start to search them.

"Tell me something, Clarke. When you watched Rory plunge that knife into the boy you loved...did you not wish that it was me?" Lexa asks with a sneer.

Clarke doesn't answer her. " _Commander._ " A warrior says, turning everyone's attention to him as he pulls a vial out of Raven's jacket.

"That's not mine." Raven says, turning to him.

" _This was in her coat._ " The man hands the vial to Lexa.

"I'm telling you that's not mine. He put it there when he searched me." Raven states before everyone looks at Lexa.

Lexa looks from Raven to Clarke, "No Sky Person leaves this room." She orders before grabbing Rory's arm and turning to leave with her warriors.

"She's one of us!" Clarke says as she gets in the way.

Lexa glares and doesn't realize she was holding Rory's arm hard, "Get out of the way, Clarke. Before I make you." The Commander almost dares the blonde to challenge her authority.

"Clarke's right. Rory is a Sky Person too." Bellamy stands defensive, "She's one of the 100." Clarke nods in agreement to his words.

"She's my daughter too." A voice from behind the two says as a woman with brown hair and grey eyes steps forward.

Rory's eyes well up with tears, "Mom?" She gets out of Lexa's grasp and tackles the guardswoman in a hug.

"Hey there, my little spark." Her mother, Eloise, squeezes her tightly.

"How are you here?" Rory pulls back while Marcus and Abby smile at the reunion.

Her mother only smiles, "I was by the Chancellor." She turns to glare at Lexa, "I couldn't get to you because you were right beside her."

Rory glances over to the Commander who was gripping the hilt of her blade too tightly at seeing the dark-haired girl surrounded by the rest of the Sky People before she looks at her mother, afraid of what Lexa might do if she does stay with them, "I...I have to go with them." Her mother begins to protest but Rory stops her with another hug, "If I don't, she could kill all of you." She whispers to her and pulls away slowly.

Her mother nods before she looks at Lexa, "If we are proven not guilty, she comes back with us. I will not allow my daughter to be among any more savages." Eloise stands her ground against the Commander firmly.

Rory shakes her head before Lexa could reply, "They're not...savages." The dark-haired girl mumbles and leaves ahead without the Commander. Lexa looks over to the Sky People before following after Rory, but the girl was nowhere to be seen in the village. The Commander grabs Kieran, the one who had brought Rory to them, and orders him to find her.

Meanwhile, Rory had run far enough from the village where there was peace and quiet. She hears the sound of water, making her way towards it before she falls to her knees in front of a river. The girl splashes water onto her face as she slowly calms herself down. She was glad her mother was there but did she have to be that way towards the Grounders? Someone had just tried to kill Lexa and making her far angrier isn't the way to go. Rory sighs just as a twig snaps to her left. She slowly glances that way as her eyes land on a pack of Grounders heading towards her with their weapons drawn. She scrambles away just as a woman appears out of the treeline.

" _Your fight is with me!_ " The woman yells before she runs to stand in their path and she turns to her, "You must run." They grow angrier that the woman was telling her to leave.

They barely gave the woman time to prepare before the rest attack. Rory gets up before running as fast as she could with her hurt leg. She doesn't stop until signs of the village appear when she sees Lexa with a few other Grounders standing around a pole. She stops at the treeline, forgetting about the incident with that woman when her eyes land on Raven. She was tied to the pole and Lexa had said something before cutting her arm. Indra cut Raven's abdomen while a few more took their turns, but before another Grounder could cut her Rory comes running out of the treeline and pushes him away.

The Grounder she pushed gets up and stands in her face, "Out of the way, girl." But Rory makes no move to by planting her feet in the ground, guarding Raven against any more harm.

"Rory, move. Now." Lexa commands.

"No." Rory says before looking at Lexa, "I will not let you hurt or kill her. She's my sister!"

"Not your real one." Lexa states and moves towards the girl.

Rory keeps Lexa's gaze, still not moving until Clarke barges out of the building the Sky People were being held in, "Stop!" The blonde yells out.

The Commander doesn't turn around as Rory still keeps her gaze, "Let her pass." Lexa turns away from Rory as she walks over to Clarke.

Clarke meets her with Abby and Bellamy behind her, "One of your people tried to kill you, Lexa, not mine." She says.

Indra steps forward, "You should have run." She sneers.

"I can prove it." Clarke grabs the bottle that Nyko gives her.

She drinks it and everyone watches in suspense until nothing happens to her, "Explain." Lexa says.

"The poison wasn't in the bottle. It was in the cup." Clarke's words made Rory glance over at Gustus once more as he clenches both his fists.

" _A lie, Commander. Do not be fooled._ " Gustus says, almost pleased.

Rory and Bellamy both realize something, "It was you." They both say as they look at each other when the Grounders split and Rory walks forward.

"He tested the cup." Rory says.

"And he searched Raven." Bellamy looks from Lexa to Gustus.

"Gustus would never harm me." Lexa states.

"You weren't the target." Bellamy says.

Rory looks at Lexa, "The alliance was. He knew that by making it seem like we poisoned you, that you would call it off." She crosses her arms over her chest.

"We didn't do this, and you know it." Clarke tries to plead with Lexa.

Lexa looks between Bellamy, Rory, and Clarke before turning to Gustus, " _You've been accused, Gustus. Speak true._ " She orders.

He looks over to Clarke before back to his Heda, "This alliance would cost you your life, Heda." He pauses as everyone looks at him, "I could not let that happen."

Lexa stares at him for a moment, "This treachery will cost you yours." She turns to one of the warriors, " _Put him on the tree._ "

A Grounder cuts Raven down as they grab Gustus. Rory runs over to her friend to help her up before Abby takes her off to the side just in time for Gustus to be tied up to the pole. The Grounders start to cut him as this goes on until every villager and warrior has had a turn. Rory stays beside her people, watching until Lexa walks over and holds out the knife everyone had been using to her. The dark-haired girl stares at the weapon while everyone stares at their Commander in tense silence.

"You wanted to know why I ordered those men to unchain you when you were brought to us? Why you haven't been killed yet?" Lexa looks down at her hand and holds it up as she cuts into it, "Because you have the blood of the Commander." Black liquid begins to seep out of the wound as Rory's eyes widen, "Blood like mine." She then offers the girl the knife to her again, "Let _us_ reform this alliance and get rid of any doubts our people may have of each other."

Rory puts her hand on the knife as Lexa lets go before she steps out of her way, motioning towards Gustus with the tilt of her head. The dark-haired girl slowly walks to him with the feeling of the knife in her hands being foreign. It was a lot heavier than the scalpel she used to... She chases away those thoughts and stares down at the blade that still had Lexa's blood on it. Rory looks back at Gustus who nods at her as she takes the knife and slices it across his shoulder. She steps away to stand back where she was while Lexa takes her place in front of Gustus.

"Ste yuj." He tells her.

Lexa takes out her sword as she moves into a stance, "Yu gonplei ste odon." She takes her sword and stabs it through his chest before turning her eyes away from the dead guard. The Commander sheathes her sword then leaves into the forest without so much as another word to her people or Rory's.

What now?

* * *

By nightfall, Rory had retreated into the quarters that had been given to her. She was about to drift off when a knock sounds at the steel door, causing her to jolt awake. "Come in." Rory mumbles as she sits up on the bed and rubs her eyes clear of sleep.

Lexa enters, no longer did she have her face paint on, and closes the door before coming to stand in front of the girl, "I came to...offer an apology." The Commander says, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Rory stands up suddenly, confused by Lexa's words, "What for? You haven't done anything." The dark-haired girl raises her brow when Lexa shakes her head.

"Your friend Raven was hurt...and I ignored your questions when I shouldn't have." Lexa looks at the ground, "You're a Natblida, even if you aren't one of us."

Rory furrows her brow at the use of the word again, "What does that mean? Natblida?" She questions.

"Nightblood. People like you and me. People with black blood." Lexa glances at the girl, "Nightbloods have always been the Commanders. It's our way."

Rory nods slightly, "So what does that mean for me?" The dark-haired girl asks.

"It means you must one day fight in the Conclave for the title of Commander. If I should die." The green-eyed girl states as she walks closer to Rory, "It is clear you'd lose the way you are now."

"Jee, no vote of confidence?" Rory says before leaning her head to the side, "Yeah nevermind, I can't fight worth shit." She lets out a laugh.

Lexa watches her for a moment before giving her a small smile, "I could have Anya teach you." The Commander then sighs, "But your people wouldn't like it."

"How is she, by the way?" Rory asks, having found out that Clarke saved Anya from the bullet wound.

"She is recovering in Polis." Lexa states.

Rory smiles slightly at the name, "What's Polis?" She asks.

"Our capital." Lexa relaxes at Rory's excitement, "Perhaps one day you could come there. _But_ , only after the defeat of the mountain and if our alliance continues in the future." The two girls continue to stare at each other, saying nothing as one leans closer to the other. Before Rory knew it, Lexa's lips were an inch away from hers as the Commander's hand moves to her face and the other one to her hip. Lexa moves to close the gap until they're interrupted by a knock on the door. They separate as Rory clears her throat to appear as if they weren't just about to kiss.

"Come in!" She yells and Bellamy pokes his head in.

"Hey...oh, I didn't know you had company." Bellamy says, looking between the two.

Lexa glances over at him, "I was just leaving." Bellamy steps out of her way and she stands in the doorframe before looking back at Rory, "Goodnight, Rory."

"Goodnight, Lexa." Rory says and the Commander leaves.

Bellamy gives her a raised brow, "What was that about?" He questions the girl.

Rory shakes her head, "Nothing." She looks away from the doorframe to him, "So..?"

"Oh right, Clarke agreed to my plan. I'm leaving for Mount Weather and Lincoln is going to take me through the tunnels." Bellamy says.

Rory hugs him, "Good luck, Bell." She pulls back, "Just be careful? Not just of the Reapers, but the people inside."

"Don't worry, sparky. I won't do anything you'd do." He winks at her teasingly as she punches his shoulder playfully.

"Yeah, do that." Rory rolls her eyes as he leaves and closes the door. The dark-haired girl plops down onto the bed. Her mind was still on the kiss that nearly happened. Would Lexa have finished it if Bellamy wasn't there? Rory wondered if she'd even get a chance to say anything about it, considering how stubborn Lexa liked to be.

Rory hoped that wouldn't be the case.

 ** _A/N: Before you ask, I had Anya be healed by Abby in time and then behind the scenes Lexa had her people take Anya to Polis so she could receive further help. Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Edit: Thank you, 22cjwolf22, for correcting me about the be strong bit. I wouldn't have noticed otherwise._**

 ** _Translations:_**

 ** _Ste Yuj: Be Strong_**

 ** _Yu gonplei ste odon: Your fight is over._**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _FIVE:_ _The Pauna_**

The next morning, Rory stood against a nearby wall as she watches Lexa, Clarke, a few Ark guards, and a couple of Grounders start to form plans on how to beat the Mountain Men. Most of the Grounders at the table were angry that all Clarke had to offer was a no to every idea. But all Rory could focus on were the side-glances that Lexa was giving her while she ignored the banter going on around her. When Rory sees that they're getting nowhere, she exits the building and decides to start roaming the village. Several children come up to her asking to play only to be sent away when she tells them she's still a bit hurt. Eventually, her exploring leads her to the training area where Seconds were practicing with one another under the watchful eyes of their mentors.

A hand taps her shoulder, "Do you want to try?" A grounder with two braids in her brown hair asks, offering the younger girl a practice sword.

"I would probably fail." Rory looks back at the warriors, "But okay."

The grounder smiles when Rory takes the sword, "Name's Zorea." She gets in a stance across from Rory.

"Rory."

The dark-haired girl barely has any time to gather her bearings before Zorea charges at her and swipes at her arm, nicking it. She pushes down her wince to fight back, her swipes sloppy but she manages to wound the grounder in return. Zorea gives her a proud nod as she begins striking again and again while giving the girl enough time to counteract her attacks. They spent the time that the meeting took place mostly circling around each other. Zorea would tell her how to step and she would show her how to hit right and precise. The dark-haired girl found it easier to fight with a sword over a gun like the Ark guards used. She hated them, anyways. Their session is cut short when Zorea is forced to leave after she's called elsewhere by her mentor and Rory puts the swords away, wincing at how many cuts she had gotten.

She walks into the forest, hoping to find that river without running into the strange man she met yesterday. Rory finds, kneeling down by the water, and cleans away her sweat from her face as well as the small cuts she had gained from her mini-training session. She sits down on the bank once she was done before peeling back the bandage that covered the wound on her right thigh. She was surprised to see that the wound had almost healed completely. _Well, now I know how Jasper healed so quickly_...Rory thinks to herself just before she hears a loud roar sound throughout the forest. She quickly gets up as it echoes in the air as she strains her hearing to listen for any sign of whatever made it until she hears Lexa yell nearby. Rory runs towards the direction she believes it was coming from and ignores the sound of dirt kicking up behind her. She keeps going until she slides on the ground to stop herself. A large gorilla jumps onto a wall in front of her then climbs over to the other side while Rory rushes to follow after it. However, she seemed to miscalculate how strong she was as she falls back to the ground onto her back.

Rory growls in frustration as she gets back up. Someone calling to her makes her jump until she spots the man from yesterday by a tunnel leading inside. She runs over to it and looks in, squinting her eyes to see bones littering the ground. The man looks over at her before leading her inside with his ax in one hand. Rory comes out as she stares at the dead body of one of the Grounders who had been at the meeting. She jumps when she hears another yell and the sound of a door slamming shut follows it. She starts to run towards the sound until the man makes her stop as he stands in front of her. "What?" He shakes his head and puts his finger to his lips as his eyes move to look around the corner. She peeks her head to look with him as she spots the gorilla banging on a door. It clearly wanted whatever was inside. Rory looks up at the man as she comes up with a stupid idea. The man raises his brow at her while she looks around for a rock to throw. She picks up a fairly good-sized one, chucking it at the gorilla's back. Her plan works as that gets its attention as it roars at her while the man positions his hand in the air, preparing to throw his hatchet. The creature charges only to he stopped by the man throwing his hatchet at him before he pushes Rory into one of the bushes as he runs away, taking the creature with him.

Rory could only watch as the gorilla disappears over the wall again and the girl gets up, running towards the door, "Hello?!" She yells out.

It falls open when Clarke and Lexa remove the sword that was locking it, "Rory? How did you get here?" Clarke asks.

A roar and yell in the distance interrupts them, "I'll tell you later _after_ we get away from that thing." She says as she moves over to help Lexa.

They leave the gorilla's lair when there was no sign of the creature itself, or the man who managed to save them. Its roars continue to vibrate throughout the forest which made the three keep their guards up as Clarke takes the lead ahead of Rory and Lexa. Lexa winces every once in a while whenever the loud roars of the creature could be heard but the dark-haired girl sums up the actions to just her shoulder hurting. As they start to lose daylight, they make camp and Clarke decides to take first watch a few feet away from the other two. Even though she knew they were safe now, Rory couldn't sleep. She sits up against a fallen tree and plays with a blade of grass, feeling herself grow uneasy.

She didn't know why, though. Maybe because she didn't know if that man was okay? He went through all that trouble to save her without knowing who she was. Shaking her head with a sigh, she rests it against the tree trunk she was sat near while watching as Clarke lies down to rest. Lexa takes the second watch so Rory could follow after the blonde, but she still couldn't sleep. Her eyes slowly wander over to the brunette watching the trees for any sign of danger. The kiss that almost happened between her and the Commander starts to invade her thoughts. They had yet to talk about it due to the meeting earlier, then being attacked by that over-sized gorilla, and then there was the fact that Lexa took it upon herself to avoid Rory all morning. Sighing again, Rory lies down on her right, facing away from the camp with her head against the tree and her jacket as her pillow.

And as sleep tries to consume her, she could have sworn she heard the cracking of bones before something warm and furry lies next to her back.

* * *

Rory awoke with a jolt as a loud howl invades the morning air. "It's okay. You're safe." Lexa reassures her as Rory notices she took up a seat against the fallen tree trunk she fell asleep next to.

Her words didn't calm the fear bubbling in her stomach, "How's your arm?" Clarke suddenly asks Lexa as she returns from checking out the area to make sure the gorilla didn't follow them.

"Hurts." Lexa states as she looks over to Clarke.

Clarke looks back towards the forest where they had come from, "We should go. That thing could come back." The blonde helps Rory up from the tree.

"Wait." Lexa gets up with her and steps over to Clarke and Rory, "I was wrong about you, Clarke." She pauses, "Your heart shows no sign of weakness."

Clarke nods as she stares at Lexa for a while before she glances over her shoulder in the direction of the gorilla's home, "The cage…" Her eyes widen and she turns back to Lexa, "I think I know how to take Mount Weather." Lexa raises her brow at hearing Clarke's words, "We've been trying to get inside, but they've already let us in."

"What are you talking about?" Lexa asks, confused but curious.

"Your army is already there. Locked in cages. We just need someone on the inside to let them out." Clarke states.

"Bellamy." Lexa begins to understand what the blonde was implying.

"He could get them to retaliate from within." Rory speaks up for the first time.

Clarke nods in agreement, "You two have faith in him?" Lexa asks as she looks between the two.

"I do." Clarke says.

The dark-haired girl crosses her arms over her chest, "He's gotten us through sticky situations before so...yeah, I do." Rory replies.

"I hope your faiths are well placed. Because if we can't get inside, we can't win." Lexa says.

"He'll get inside." Clarke states before moving over to the fire and kicking it out, "Lexa...this is gonna work." She turns to her then Rory, "Come on."

Rory sighs and leaves with them but the hairs standing up on the back of her neck cause her to pick up the pace with the other two. She puts on her jacket as they slowly make their way into the village. Nyko is the first to greet them when he comes to check on the Commander after seeing her makeshift sling. Rory's mother comes to ask her if she was alright, but the dark-haired girl, still not happy with what she said about the Grounders, only shrugs her off to follow after Lexa and Nyko. It was a small room like hers with a bed in the corner. The only difference was the couch by the fireplace. She waits patiently while Nyko correctly wraps Lexa's shoulder before he leaves with a nod to her and the Commander.

Lexa notices her as Nyko leaves and the door shuts, "Yes?" She asks the girl, wondering why Rory followed her inside.

Rory pretends not to show her nervousness, "Can we um...t-talk about last night?" She fails when her voice stutters.

"What is there to talk about?" Lexa ignores the memory of them almost kissing when it shows up in her mind, "We talked and said goodnight. That is all." She gets up and moves to another table that held several reports from her men.

The other girl was about to protest but no words come out. So she swallows and leaves without another glance, hiding the hurt building up in her chest. While Lexa watches her leave, she thinks about what would have happened if Bellamy hadn't interrupted them. Since the moment she saw her in that cell, she was intrigued by the sky girl with nightblood running through her veins. It only got worse when the other clans started to see her as one of them. Now Lexa couldn't stop thinking about Rory. She did want that kiss to happen. But, as she remembers Titus's teachings, she pushes down all feelings she was starting to gain for the Natblida.

Even if she wished there was another way.

 ** _A/N: Sorry this one was short again. Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow!_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _SIX:_ _The Fight_**

Before Clarke left to return to the Ark to wait for Bellamy to contact them from Mount Weather, the blonde wanted to run something by Rory, "What's up?" She asks Clarke as they stand in Rory's quarters.

The blonde begins to pace in thought, "The Grounders trust you. Do you think you can convince them to wait if Bellamy needs more time?" Clarke asks.

"Clarke, I don't know...they might trust me because of my blood but I don't think they do beyond that." Rory crosses her arms.

Clarke stops and steps towards her, "Please. I can't ask for more time." The blonde pleads with her.

Rory throws her arms in the air, "This is a big 'if' Clarke. They probably still hate me for killing..." She stops talking before she could say his name.

Clarke notices this, "You killed him. Face it, Rory." All the feelings she's had locked away start to come out against her control, "His blood is on your hands and while Raven might be okay with it because you saved him from suffering, I'm not." Clarke pauses as tears well up in her eyes, "...I loved him, Rory. And you took him away."

"What was I supposed to do?!" Rory yells, "You could've just said your goodbyes to him. Let the Grounders be happier working with us than they are now, but I wasn't going to let you turn around and kill Lexa. I know that's what you were going to do." She looks away and ignores how Clarke goes to protest, "All those Grounders would've killed us before you got to their Commander and then where would we be?"

"I don't know!" Clarke states before more of her tears start to fall. "But it would be better off than your dad." Rory freezes at the blonde's words and Clarke's eyes widen at what she had said. She knew that mentioning Rory's father was crossing a line. "Wait, Rory, I-" Rory moves past Clarke as she leaves the room in an instant. She fights against the anger building while she tries to get away from the blonde but she follows after her. The dark-haired girl turns around and yells at Clarke to leave her alone, but her reply was a quick 'no'.

"Clarke, I swear to god. Leave." Clarke makes no move, "Leave before I fucking make you." Rory spats.

The blonde still doesn't move so Rory turns back around with an irritated sigh, "What? You're going to run away like you always do? Like the outcast you are?!" Clarke says, not caring that moments ago she regretted what she had said. This would push the dark-haired girl...she just hoped not too far.

Lexa and her guard detail were watching from a distance while she was ordering people to get things set up for the 12 delegations arriving in TonDC by tomorrow. There was barely any warning before Rory turns on Clarke, throwing her fist against the blond's face. Suddenly, a crowd starts to form around them while the fight goes on as Lexa struggles to get past it. She finally does just after she sees Clarke get on top of Rory and gets a good few punches in before the dark-haired girl kicks her torso with her good leg. She stands up then slams her fist against the blonde's jaw as a sickening crack echoes through the air. Rory fights against the searing pain in her knuckles but before she can land another blow to Clarke, guards ordered by Lexa separate the two.

"What the hell is going on?!" Lexa questions them as they glare at each other when one guard helps Clarke stand.

They all ignore the gasps at Rory's blood since the villagers hadn't been told of it yet, "Nothing." Rory continues to glare at Clarke before turning to Lexa, "Just a disagreement."

She shrugs off the guards holding her before continuing on her path far away from anyone. Clarke shakes her head as her anger dies down and she starts to regret what she had said to Rory. She shouldn't have pushed the girl so far. The blonde decides to leave with her mother, a few of the Grounders, and Ark guards. She ignores her mother's and Eloise's questions about her bloody nose, black eye, and the several bruises starting to form on her jaw. Clarke hadn't expected Rory to know how to throw a good punch or two. But it certainly didn't surprise her when she remembers who she used to hang out with on the Ark.

In the distance, Rory holds her broken knuckles as the blonde rides away.

* * *

 _Hours later…_

Rory bites her lip as she tries to wrap her hand only to huff in annoyance then toss the offending piece of cloth onto the table. She takes off her shirt to look at the bruises forming here and there on her skin, frowning at how many there were. _Such an idiot..._ She didn't hear the door close until someone clears their throat behind her. Heat grows in her cheeks when she notices Lexa standing with her back to her to give her privacy, "I can come back-" Lexa starts first.

"It's fine...let me um…" Rory quickly puts on a fresh shirt that was given to her by the guards, "You can uh...turn around now."

Lexa turns back around with a sigh until she notices the bruises starting to form on the girl's face, "Are you and Clarke okay?" The Commander questions, wondering if the fight between the two would be a problem.

Rory nods with a loud sigh, "It's not the biggest fight we've had...but it's definitely the most hurtful." The girl looks down, "Clarke crossed two lines that she knew would get me to act up. Why? I'm not sure." She shakes her head, "But it started with mentioning Finn, and ended with her calling me by the nickname that everyone used to call me on the Ark."

"What was it?" Lexa asks.

Rory hugs her torso as if curling into herself, "Outcast." She whispers and finds herself unnaturally willing to be vulnerable with Lexa.

Lexa nods in understanding before she moves to the girl and places her hands on Rory's elbows, "You will never be an outcast among my people, Rory. And you're always welcome by my side." Rory looks up at the Commander at her words.

She gives Lexa a small smile and moves her arms until she's holding one of Lexa's hands with her own, squeezing it as she does, "Thank you, Commander, but I wouldn't ask that much of you." Rory lets out a chuckle, "And my mother would probably freak out if her daughter suddenly joins the 'savages' as she so kindly put." Lexa gives her a smile at the joke, "Ah, so she smiles."

Lexa stares at her, "Why do you joke?" She asks, seeing the sadness hidden behind the girl's eyes.

Rory looks away in thought, "Because if I don't...I'll crumble and everything will fall apart. And I-" She looks up into the green eyes of the Commander, "I guess I'm just used to shoving everything down and being okay for my friends." She says.

Lexa says nothing so this gives Rory the chance to finally notice that the Commander was at least a foot taller than her. It didn't make her feel small in any way, but that wasn't what was on her mind. Her eyes would switch from the piercing green eyes that held her own to the lips she felt she wanted to taste. But neither of them wanted to make the first move. Eventually, Lexa clears her throat and bids her goodnight before opening the door and closing it quickly behind her.

And Rory was once again left alone.

 ** _A/N: Another short one but that's because it was mainly focused on building up Rory's and Lexa's relationship, or Lery fluff as my friend calls it. Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi! Thank you guys for the reviews! I appreciate it and I'm glad you are enjoying this story so far. This chapter has been edited.**

 ** _REPLYING TO REVIEWS:_**

 ** _AmaraJoy:_ _Rory is 17 but is two months away from turning eighteen at this time._**

 ** _NoSocialLifeHere:_ _How Rory became a Nightblood is explained a little after A.L.I.E. comes into the storyline and when Clarke goes into the City of Light. It ties into Bekka._**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _SEVEN:_ _The Missile_**

The 12 clans and Skaikru all gathered in TonDC for a meeting to finally take the battle to the mountain. However, Clarke Griffin was in a hurry on her way to the village carrying bad news. The Mountain Men were going to bomb the meeting with a missile in an attempt to cripple their army and the Commander needed to be told to get her people out before that happens. Lexa was speaking with Marcus when the blonde leader arrives with a grounder flanking her. "Clarke of the Sky People has honored us with her presence." She offers the grounder with Clarke a small nod then turns her attention back to her.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Commander." Clarke looks around for Rory, hoping to apologize for yesterday, but she couldn't find her anywhere.

Lexa notices her searching, "She's getting her hand checked out." The Commander says, still unsure of how to feel about the fight.

"Well, you made good time." Marcus decides to change the subject, "I assume the kids at Mount Weather are okay?"

"For now." Clarke looks from Marcus back to Lexa, "Can we talk in private?"

"Yes. This way." Lexa turns around to lead her into the building behind them.

As soon as they were alone, the blonde tells the Commander of the missile. "A missile?" Lexa questions, "You're sure?"

"Yes. We have to start evacuating now." Clarke says, ready to run outside and yell at everyone to leave.

"No." Lexa states, shaking her head.

"What do you mean, no, Lexa?" Clarke asks.

"If we evacuate, they'll know we have a spy inside their walls." Lexa states the obvious.

"Not necessarily." Clarke says with the raise of her brow.

"We can't risk it." Lexa turns away to walk over to the table.

Clarke moves with her, "What's the point of having an inside man if we can't act on what he tells us?" She asks.

"Is the acid fog disabled?" Lexa questions her, "Is our sleeping army uncaged?" Clarke shakes her head, "Then Bellamy's job is not done. Without him, we can't win this war."

"So what're you saying?" Clarke asks, confused, "We just do nothing? Let them bomb us?"

"It'll be a blow." Lexa pauses as she glances around the table, "But our army will be safe inside the woods. And it will inspire them." She says.

Clarke steps closer, "And what about us?" She looks around, "What about Rory?" She questions, knowing how much that Lexa and her people were so interested in her.

Lexa almost wanted to consider running out there to find the dark-haired girl and bring her with them, "We slip away." She turns to Clarke, "Right now. We can't afford to have anyone else find out." The Commander grabs two cowls, "Put this on." She hands one to Clarke.

"Lexa wait, you don't understand." They start walking towards another entrance, "I provoked Mount Weather. I sent a message to distract them from Bellamy." She states.

"Clarke, sometimes you have to concede a battle to win a war." Lexa says.

"No." The blonde pauses as she thinks, "We can inform the leaders of the clans. Pick a rendezvous point in the woods. Each of them can slip out separately." She suggests.

"And how many more people will they tell? Where do we draw the line?" Lexa asks.

"Well, then cancel the meeting! Start a fire, something!" Clarke yells.

Lexa turns to the entrance, "Clarke, we don't have time for this." She starts walking.

"No, no." She catches up to her and grabs her arm to make Lexa turn towards her, "This is wrong." Clarke says.

Lexa steps up to Clarke, "It's also our only choice, and you know it. You could have warned everyone out there, but you didn't. You said nothing, not even to your own people." She pauses, "This is war, Clarke. People die. You showed true strength today. Don't let emotions stop you now." She sighs, "It's time to go."

Lexa leaves through the back entrance with Clarke behind her a second later.

Neither one looking back.

* * *

Loud screaming and gunshots were the first things that Rory woke up to. The first thing she felt was a lot of weight on her torso as well as one of her arms, not being able to feel the other. Warm liquid slips out of her hairline down the side of her face as her eyes open and she takes in her surroundings. She looks around at the rubble as more screams come from the crack above her. She tries to move but lets out a loud scream of her own, looking over to the arm that she couldn't feel and notices that blood begins to taint her jacket. Another yelp escapes her lips while she moves it again which tells the girl that it was possibly broken.

Rory knew she had to move or she could risk losing her arm so she pushes up the piece of rubble on top of it as hard as she could. It's lifted off of her and she quickly rolls away when it slams onto the ground with a 'smack'. She coughs as dust appears but gets up to lean against another piece of rubble. Her blood starts to run down her arm which prompts her to curse until movement up ahead makes her glance over as she sees Marcus stuck under rubble as well. "Kane..." Rory reaches him after slowly crawling over all the rubble separating them.

She winces as a rock lightly grazes her bruised stomach but continues to crawl over as best she can, "R-Rory?...are you...are you okay?" Marcus struggles to get out.

"I'm fine. Just a broken arm...I think." She notices the state he's in, "You, on the other hand...we gotta get you out." Rory uses her right arm to sit up.

He sees the blood coating her jacket and furrows his brow, "That's more than just a broken arm…" Marcus says as worry shows up in his eyes.

Rory shakes her head, "It's fine. Now come on, help me push." She gets up on her knees, wincing as she does, before putting her good hand on the large piece of rubble.

She pushes as hard as she could but it wouldn't budge off of his leg so she tries the next best thing, "Help! We need help!" Rory yells towards the opening not too far away.

Rory tries to pull it back for another few minutes before leaning her forehead against the piece of metal...she couldn't do it. She wasn't strong enough…"Hold on, I'm coming!" Someone says from behind her and relief fills her.

She glances towards the opening as Abby crawls through with a flashlight, "Abby!" Rory moves so Abby could see Marcus's condition.

"It's my leg." Marcus tells her.

Abby nods and Rory maneuvers out of the way so she could get to it, "You're bleeding. But not that bad." She says after she checks his leg, "Can you move your toes?"

Marcus tries to, "Yeah." He says.

"Good. I don't think anything is broken. You're lucky." Abby turns to Rory when she sees the dark patch on the arm she was cradling, "You need to get out of here and find Nyko before your arm gets worse."

"No." Rory shakes her head, "I'm not leaving him."

Abby looks at her in a way that makes Rory think she might argue with her until she suddenly nods, "Okay. Help me get him out." The doctor starts to push the metal.

Rory helps her as much as she can, but even with the two of them nothing budges, "Not that lucky." Marcus states until they hear a woman sobbing, "That could be Clarke."

"We're not leaving you here." Abby says as Marcus looks back to her.

The two keep pulling to get the man out as more gunshots go off above, "What's going on up there?" Rory asks Abby.

"There's a sniper...he's got the survivors pinned down." Abby looks around for anything to help them and finds a metal pipe, grabbing it to give them leverage, "But I think a few are trying to find his location."

Abby starts to use the pipe before she moves over to Marcus on the other side to start pushing the piece of metal up until his blood starts to squirt out, "Don't move, don't move!" She yells at him before she drops the metal back down and he screams in pain, "Your femoral artery is lacerated. The weight of the beam...is the only thing keeping you alive."

Marcus lets out a laugh, "Heh. Hell of a bandage." He groans as his leg sparks in pain.

"I'll figure it out. In the meantime…" Abby turns to Rory, "Please go and get help for yourself, Rory. I swear to you that I will get him out of here." She says.

Rory searches the doctor's eyes before nodding, "Okay...okay I'll go." The dark-haired girl leaves the two alone.

"She's one hell of a tough kid." Abby says as they watch her crawl out the way the doctor came in, "It's no wonder the Grounders and their Commander like her."

"Yeah, but she's not just any kid…" Marcus sighs as he decides to finally let this one secret off his shoulders and looks at Abby, "She's my kid."

Abby's eyes widen as she holds onto the pipe, "What?" She asks with raised brows.

"It's a long story. One for another time, if I survive." Marcus says, referring to his wound.

This was one story Abigail Griffin truly wanted to know.

* * *

When Rory climbs out of the opening, she instantly ducks down when the sniper tries to take a shot at her. Someone calls her name from afar and she spots Octavia with the other Seconds. Rory does her best to run over to her before sliding onto the ground right next to the girl. Octavia helps her to sit up against the rubble. "You okay, sparks?" Octavia asks when she notices the girl cradling her arm.

"Arm's possibly broken." They all jump when the rubble that was being held up where she came from comes crashing down, "No no no…" Rory clenches her jaw, "Shit."

"What?" Octavia watches the girl freak out.

Rory looks back to Octavia, "Kane and Abby are down there. She told me to come up here to find Nyko." She says.

Octavia was about to reply when two more shots go off and one hits a Grounder's leg, "We can't wait anymore." A warrior's Second from Azgeda states while Octavia looks beyond the rubble, "Our people are dying down there."

Octavia looks at the rubble across from them, "If we can get to the crater, we could tunnel in from the side." She suggests.

"There's no cover." Another Second, one from Sangedakru, says.

The Azgeda Second takes a sip of some unknown liquid out of a bottle, "I'll do it." He puts the cap back on and gets up before starting to run.

But more gunshots go off that make him fall to the ground and crawl back, "Get back, get back!" Octavia helps him get back over to them.

The Second who spoke earlier comes in between Rory and Octavia, "Any other bad ideas?" She asks.

Octavia looks at a fire nearby and then grabs the bottle the Azgeda Second had dropped and drinks from it before putting the cap on, "Just one." She throws it into the fire which makes it blow up.

It creates smoke which causes Rory to send her a smirk, "Nice one, O." Octavia grins at the girl's praise before she runs through the cover of the smoke to slide down to the rubble with the other two Seconds following behind. Rory stays with the Grounders who were injured and starts to peak over the rubble to see through the smoke. Every once in a while she could spot the glare of the sniper's scope but he was too fast for her to see where he could be. Feet patting on the ground make her turn forward as the man from before appears beside her.

"You again?" Rory chuckles and shakes her head, "How do you always manage to show up right in the nick of time?" She asks

The man shrugs, "I heard the missile drop." He then nods to her arm, "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm fine." Rory looks up at him, "I'm Rory, by the way."

"Fenrir." He says.

She offers him a smile before she looks back over to the treeline, "Okay Mr. Sniper, let's see how you fare against Fenrir and I."

The man raises his brow at the girl who glares at him, "What? I thought I sounded cool." She gets up but still stays low, "Guess not..."

They transverse to the treeline and keep in that cover as they walk around the village to where the gunshots seem to get louder. It was midday by the time she starts to reach some snow, but her arm keeps her from going as fast as she did at the start of their trek. The throbbing was distracting Rory from continuing on. She nearly takes a break when she hears the gunshots as clear as day before they hit a rock nearby. She spots Lincoln behind it before Clarke pops up and starts shooting at part of a dry fallen tree. Lincoln moves in while the sniper is distracted, sneaking around him as Fenrir moves to join the Grounder on the other side.

Rory attempts to join her blonde friend but the sniper spots the dark-haired girl and shoots her way, making Rory fall to the ground for cover. He stops to come out of hiding before Lincoln jumps out of the bushes. He slams his weapon down onto the sniper's which causes them to start fighting after the gun is dropped. The Grounder gains the upper hand and knocks the sniper to the ground, punching him a few times before grabbing his knife as he goes to thrust it into him when the sniper pulls out a device. He activates it which makes Lincoln cover his ears at the screeching sound. It gives him enough time to grab Lincoln and hold a knife to his throat as he stands up when Clarke comes out with her gun drawn, "Drop your weapon." The sniper orders.

Lincoln grunts, "Just let him kill me, then take him out." He struggles against the man, "Clarke, please. Your people need you."

"You are my people." Clarke states just as she goes to pull the trigger.

But right before then, Rory spots Fenrir's hatchet on the ground near her so she grabs it with her good arm then chucks it at the sniper, making him let go of Lincoln. The weapon's sharp edge plants itself in the sniper's skull with the force of her throw. The other three turn to look in the direction it came from, finding the dark-haired girl standing next to one of the rocks. "Uh...hi guys?" Rory's eyes were still wide from what she had just done.

Lexa hides the approval in her eyes when Lincoln lets out a small laugh, "You've got quite the throw there." He tells the dark-haired girl.

"That was...completely by luck, I swear." She states with a nervous chuckle.

Lincoln only shakes his head as Lexa comes to stand next to Clarke, "Did that make you feel better?" The Commander asks Clarke.

"No." Clarke says as tears well up in her eyes.

Lincoln grabs his horn, "I've got to signal that he's dead." He moves away from the three girls to blow it.

Rory watches him leave before she turns to Clarke, "Rory, listen I-" Clarke starts as she notices how fast Rory starts walking and begins to think the worst.

Instead of punching her for making her worry, the dark-haired girl wraps her arms around the blonde tightly, "Shut up, Griffin." She squeezes her with her good arm, "We had a fight. It's nothing new. Nothing we can't repair and get over. I'm just happy you're okay." Rory says as she pulls away from her.

Clarke gives her a smile, "Yeah…" She trails off when she sees Rory cradling her arm as well as the blood coating her jacket, "Rory, why aren't you bandaged? And why isn't your arm in a sling or something?" The blonde takes off her cowl and uses it to make a makeshift sling for Rory's left arm.

"Well...your mom told me to go find Nyko, but I got a little...sidetracked." She gestures to over to the dead sniper.

"Is my mom okay?" Clarke asks, concerned.

"I don't know. When I left, Octavia and the other Seconds were starting to clear out the rubble to get to her and Kane." Rory informs her as Clarke nods.

"Then let's go." The four of them arrive by nightfall with Rory being the first to appear as she spots the Seconds placing Marcus on the ground. Octavia was putting a blanket over him when Lincoln arrives next to the other dark-haired girl, looking for Indra's Second. The couple runs to each other and embrace before engaging in a lot of kissing which makes Rory turn her gaze away with a chuckle. They look back up to her when Clarke and Lexa arrive next to her just as Abby comes out of the rubble when the grounders around them start to chant the word Heda.

Lexa raises her hand into the air and they stop, "What happened here will not stand. The Mountain will fall." She pauses to look around at everyone, "The dead will be avenged!"

The Grounders all start cheering, "Enough! That's enough!" Abby yells, making them stop before she looks at Lexa, "There are still others in the wreckage. We heard them. Go to work!" Rory smiles at the doctor who returns it while everyone rushes to help her. She nearly jumps when someone's hand lands on her shoulder and she looks to see Fenrir standing by her side. Rory furrows her brow, about to ask him where he went, before she watches him leave to go help the Ark's doctor. Shaking her head, she turns to her right when Lexa begins to talk again.

"With our two people working together, we're gonna win this war, Clarke." Lexa states.

Clarke nods in response before she glances at Rory and notices the man, "Who's he?" The blonde asks.

Rory looks away as her gaze turns to him, "Um...Fenrir. He saved us from that Gorilla." Clarke narrows her eyes when Fenrir turns to look at her as a clear show of distrust towards the man. Why hadn't he shown himself before, then? Lexa interrupts them by saying that they are going to head out until her eyes land on Rory. There was worry there as she notices all her new cuts and bruises, but she leaves without saying anything. The dark-haired girl frowns as she runs after Lexa then grabs her arm, making her turn to her.

"What's wrong?" Rory asks, having seen the way that Lexa looked at her before she left. Lexa doesn't answer but instead makes sure to glance at all of the other girl's wounds thoroughly this time. The Commander was about to say something until some of her warriors pull her away so they could start heading out. She watches her leave with her heartstrings pulling until Lexa disappears from her line of sight.

"Rory? You coming?" Octavia's voice brings her out of her stupor.

Rory shakes her head to clear her thoughts, "Yeah…" She replies.

"Come on then." Octavia turns around to leave while Rory follows after the girl when they reach Indra who was with Clarke as everyone starts to leave.

Her eyes remain on the Commander's back ahead of them as her worried eyes flash in her mind.

Why does she keep pushing away?

 ** _A/N: Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Follow, and Favorite! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _EIGHT:_ _Decision_**

Rory gaze never moved away from the Commander's tent that night while she sat at a fire next to Octavia. Her arm wasn't in a sling anymore and instead, her hand was wrapped tightly which prevented her from moving it too much. Abby had confirmed that her whole arm wasn't broken, just her wrist when they made camp a few hours ago. Her knuckles were still broken too, so she had no use of her left hand at all. Continuing to stare at Lexa's tent, her thoughts go back to why she looked at her like that but never said anything. With a sigh, Rory finally ignores her constant wondering and rubs her eyes as sleep tries to consume her. She turns to her right when Octavia nudges her shoulder softly, "You should sleep. We've got a war ahead of us." The girl looks back into the crackling fire keeping them warm.

"I'm not fighting." The girl next to her furrows her brow, "Commander's and my mother's orders."

"So?" Octavia shrugs, "You've never let anyone's commands get in the way of what you want to do, sparks. Not even my own brother's back when it was just the hundred of us." The girl jokes.

Rory lets out a chuckle, "Yeah...if only we could go back...maybe then…" The dark-haired girl trails off when her mind goes to Finn.

However, Clarke walking up to them and taking a seat across from the two stops Octavia from saying anything, "Everything okay?" The blonde asks, checking up on them.

Octavia is the first to speak up, "I've been going over it and over it in my head just trying to figure out how...you're still alive." Rory raises her brow at the other girl's words.

"What're you talking about?" Clarke defects from the question.

"I saw you in TonDC before the missile hit. I know you, Clarke. Something was wrong. And then you and Lexa disappear and just happen to survive?" Octavia states, "Tell me you didn't know it was coming."

Clarke doesn't answer as she looks down then back to the girl, "Octavia…" She says.

"That's why you were with Lincoln." Rory speaks up and Octavia looks at her, "You and Lexa left together...before the missile hit…and all those people…" The dark-haired girl grits her teeth together.

"You let all those people die." Octavia says before she gets up, "You were gonna let us die." She glares at the blonde who gets up with her.

"Hey. I did it to save Bellamy. So that we could win this war. Don't you see that? If we'd evacuated TonDC, Mount Weather would've known that someone tipped us off. They would have found your brother." Clarke tries to reason with the girl.

"No, Bellamy would have never told you to do that. He would've found another way." Octavia narrows her eyes.

"I couldn't take that risk." Clarke says.

"Right." Octavia stares at her, "Because you're in charge now, and you decide who's disposable." She shakes her head, "You'd have fit right in on the Council." She brushes past the blonde's shoulder to walk away.

The blonde watches her walk away, "Hey. Octavia." She calls her name.

Octavia turns back, "What?" She harshly asks.

"You can't tell anyone." Clarke looks around, "If people found out that we-"

"The alliance would break." Octavia interrupts her, "I'm not an idiot, Clarke." She doesn't notice that Lexa had walked out of the tent behind her and turns around to find her standing there, "Commander." She greets.

By this time, Rory had gotten up to stand beside Clarke, "Octavia." Lexa replies.

A warrior, Ryder, next to her speaks up, "It's time for the southernmost guard post rotation. You should relieve them." He says.

"Indra expects me to be on the scouting mission." Octavia tells the man before turning to Lexa, "With Lincoln."

"And now you're needed at the guard post. Indra will join you there shortly." Ryder says as Lexa nods to the girl.

Lexa watches her leave while Clarke walks up to her, "She won't say anything." The blonde reassures the Commander.

Lexa looks at Clarke, "You can't be sure of that. Too many people know, Clarke." The Commander says.

"You worry about your people, I'll worry about mine." Clarke says before returning to the Commander's tent.

Lexa looks back to where Octavia had gone as she turns to join Clarke, " _Kill her._ " She orders Ryder who only nods before continuing to stand guard at the Commander's tent. She stops, however, when she spots Rory in the corner of her eye staring at her. Lexa turns her head and their eyes meet momentarily before she sees the disappointment in Rory's eyes. The Commander clenches her jaw while balling her hands into fists, figuring out that Clarke had not only revealed their knowledge of the missile to Octavia but also to her. Rory is the first to break their eye contact as she leaves further into the Grounder camp to be as far away from Lexa as she could.

When she enters her tent, which wasn't next to Lexa's anymore, she runs her hand down her face with a sigh until the sound of footsteps enter her hearing while the tent flap opens and Lexa makes her turn towards her, "Oh just great...what do you want?" Rory asks with a glare.

"I was going to tell you." Lexa states as she keeps her eyes locked on grey ones that suddenly remind her of a raging storm.

Rory lets out a laugh sarcastically, "Yeah, and when was that going to happen? Before or after you saw that I was fine?" She questions the Commander, not caring if she was stepping into dangerous territory at this point.

Lexa freezes and doesn't reply.

"Exactly." Rory turns back around to pick up her jacket so she could pack it up.

The Commander thinks of the moments they've been alone and clenches her jaw when she knew what she had to do in order to protect Rory, "I need to ask you to stay away." Lexa stares at the girl's back, "We cannot afford to be distracted by each other this close to battle." No words had ever hurt her as worse as those ones, not even her own father's the day he had found out about the black blood flowing through her veins. Before she knew it, Lexa was gone and Rory had been left alone as the sun begins to creep into her tent. She barely moves from where she stood except when Clarke had come to check if she was alright as she brushes past the blonde without a word. The blonde had seen Lexa leave Rory's tent earlier and, after seeing the hurt in dark-haired girl's eyes after she left, she marches over to the Commander's tent with a death wish.

She barges in just as Lexa had just finished applying warpaint to her face, "What did you say to Rory?!" Clarke asks, becoming protective over her friend and done with Lexa's bullshit after stopping the warrior she had sent to kill Octavia.

Lexa stops applying the face paint at hearing her question, "Nothing of your concern, Clarke." She looks over to the blonde as she gets up from her throne and puts the mirror away, "What happened is between her and me."

"Like hell it is." Clarke walks over to her, "The last time I have ever seen her like that was after her father called her an outcast for being different and her mother told her she wanted nothing to do with her. It took her two years just to get over that!" The blonde states.

Lexa continues to swallow down her feelings, "That is not my problem." She walks into her room to grab her arm braces and starts putting them on.

Clarke shakes her head as Lexa comes out of the room, "I call bullshit." Lexa looks at her when she says this, "First, you hurt Rory, and then you want Octavia dead. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You were going to let Octavia die two days ago." Lexa states, "Nothing has changed." The Commander almost rolls her eyes.

"You're wrong." Clarke states and Lexa looks at her again, "I have changed. And I can't do this anymore. Not when you're hurting my friends." She turns away and leans a hand against the table.

"Octavia is a threat." Lexa says as she comes to stand in front of Clarke, "If you weren't so close to her, you'd see that. And Rory, she's stronger than you think."

"It's because I'm close to her that I know she's loyal. Her brother is more important to her than anyone. She would never endanger his life." Clarke moves closer to Lexa, "But Rory is not that strong. She tries to hide it, I know, except she can't forever. It'll keep tearing her out from within. Especially now that she's had to kill someone she considered her own brother!"

"And you're willing to risk everything on that?" Lexa chooses to ignore what Clarke says about Rory, "On your feelings?"

"Yes, unlike you. You say having feelings makes me weak, but you're weak for hiding from them. I might be a hypocrite, Lexa, but you're a liar." Clarke steps closer, "You felt something for Gustus." She steps closer again as Lexa steps back, "You have feelings for Rory, I can see it." She keeps going until Lexa's back hits a table, "You want everyone to think you're above it all, but I see right through you."

"Get. Out." Lexa sneers at the blonde.

"Two hundred and fifty people died in that village. Their blood is on your hands as much as mine." Clarke pauses as she keeps eye contact, "Rory could have been one of them. And you had a chance to save her, but you didn't. All because you think that having feelings is a weakness. Does Rory make you weak? Because I don't see you being weak. Trusting Octavia is not being weak either, she's not a threat. So trust me when I say it."

Lexa doesn't say anything at first, "I can't do that…" The Commander says.

"Then I can't sacrifice my people anymore. If you do anything to hurt Octavia, or hurt Rory again, I'll tell everyone we knew about the missile."

Clarke keeps her eyes on Lexa's as she leaves the tent, only to run into Rory who had been walking by it. The dark-haired girl mumbles an apology to the blonde as she keeps walking ahead. She starts walking the perimeter of the camp until Clarke spots the bow that the girl was holding. It was the makeshift one she made at the dropship back when they needed to hunt after their food had been burned down. Clarke wondered when she brought it with her, but then Rory's mother crosses the blonde's mind and she remembers that Eloise had gone to the dropship with Abby and Marcus after the Ark got grounded.

Rory walks further away from camp to be alone to not only think, but to distract herself. She adjusts the strap of the quiver that Lincoln had given her as she looks around for any signs of tracks. She spots what looked like hooves of a deer so she follows the trail until she reaches a small grassy area where several adult deer were grazing. She was no expert archer, but most of the food that the 100 had during their first week of being on the ground was from her kills. She grabs an arrow and draws her bow as she aims at a buck. She breathes softly to concentrate until she feels something sniff her head.

She slowly spares a glance that way to be met by a fawn that was now twitching his nose after meeting her eyes. Rory slowly puts down her bow as she reaches up with her injured hand. The fawn nudges against her hand without a moment's hesitation which causes a large smile to grace her lips as the animal lets her touch him. But the fawn is scared away when a twig snaps to Rory's left and she looks to see Lexa, "I did not mean to interrupt." The Commander says as she watches the girl.

The rest of the deer run off at the sound of her voice, "Yes you did." Rory spoke softly as she narrows her eyes, "What do you want, Commander?" She says in a harsh, more serious tone than normal.

Lexa flinches at the use of her title but hides it, "I wanted to speak with you...about last night." The green-eyed girl sees Rory let out a sigh.

"You were clear about how you feel. And I have to deal with that." Rory whispers to herself, "We have nothing left to say to each other, Lexa." She starts to walk past the Commander, "I'll stay with you and your people until we defeat the mountain, but after that...I'm going home with my people and you'll never have to see me again."

Lexa grabs the girl's arm, "I...care for you, Rory. But we can't...be together in the way that we want." She says, hoping that Rory would listen to her.

Rory couldn't help the heartache that came with her words, "You should've said that last night…" She shrugs Lexa's hand off of her arm, "But what's done is done, Commander. I stand by what I'm going to do after the Mountain Men are no more. Don't try and change my mind...please."

Rory turns around to leave and gets at least a foot away from Lexa when they hear something go off as a red flare is shot into the sky, "The Signal…" Rory hears Lexa say.

"Bellamy did it."

* * *

The Grounders had set out on a march to Mount Weather. Their conversation was left unfinished but neither Rory, nor Lexa, could focus on that right now when the lives of their peoples were at stake. The former was marching with Fenrir alongside Indra and Octavia when the dark-skinned warrior glances over at her holding the bow. She was surprised at how well she seemed to know about it after hearing that she asked Lincoln for a quiver and some arrows to hunt.

"Did someone teach you?" Indra asks, gesturing to the bow.

Rory nods slightly, keeping her eyes forward, "My father." She tells the warrior.

"He taught you well." Indra had gained a newfound respect for the girl after hearing this, "Is he here on the ground?"

"He's at peace with my older brother." Rory states before she leaves Indra's side.

Octavia leans over to the general, "Her brother's name was Xander, but he had been born one minute before her. He was killed the moment she came into this world because the Council thought it'd be better for natural selection." She tells Indra.

"She could provide a future generation better than he could." Indra states after realizing what the girl meant and Octavia nods as she watches the girl move towards the front, but not entirely where Lexa was. She furrows her brows in confusion as to why Rory would be avoiding the Commander when a day ago they were completely fine. She shakes her head when Clarke comes over to her side. Rory kept her eyes straight and her body tense when the Grounders start to yell battle cries but she doesn't join in. Instead, she remains in silence, not wanting to think about how she would regret her decision.

The decision to leave everyone.

 ** _A/N: Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _NINE:_ _Battle For Mount Weather 1_**

"Welcome, Sky Crew."

Rory's head pops up from her spot near some of the Grounders in the Commander's tent as people from the Ark start to fill in, her mother being one of them. They walk over to each other behind everyone while the meeting goes on, "Mom, what're you doing here?" Rory asks the woman.

Eloise sighs, "Making sure you don't get killed." She notices her daughter's tense behavior, "Are you okay?"

"We're about to go to war. Of course not." Rory lies before turning her attention back to Lexa.

"-today's the day we get our people back. The enemy thinks it's safe behind its doors, but it's not. When it realizes that, it will fight back." Lexa looks around at everyone, "Hard. We need to be ready."

She looks to Clarke and nods, "This is a rescue mission. We are not here to wipe them out. There are people inside that mountain that have helped us. Children who have nothing to do with this war. We kill their soldiers. Their leadership if we have to. But we are there to rescue our people. Is that clear?" A few Ark soldiers whisper a 'yes ma'am' while the grounders all nod at the blonde, "Then let's begin."

She looks over to Rory who steps up to the table with everyone else, "Four teams. Two at the dam and in the mine, which are moving into position already. The third, inside the mountain, is freeing the Grounder prisoners as we speak. It is our job as the fourth team to keep the eyes of the enemy off them for as long as possible. To do that, we have to be in position here at the front door with our entire army." Clarke places her hand on the entrance of the diagram they had built, "The Mountain Men believe the door can't be opened from the outside so they leave it unguarded. Only, it can be. And thanks to our source on the inside, now we know how. According to Maya, the electromagnetic locking system has one flaw. When the power goes out, it disengages."

"And that's where Raven's team comes in." Rory states.

The blonde turns and points at her, "Exactly. The mountain's electricity is generated at Philpott Dam. By now, they've taken the turbine room. It's their job to blow the power. Once they do, we blow the lock." Clarke pauses as she looks around, "There is a catch. A backup generator inside the mountain. If the lock is still functioning when that backup power kicks in...we'll never get that door open. We'll never get our people back." She says.

"How much time do we have until the backup power kicks in?" Sergeant Miller asks.

"One minute." Clarke then looks to Rory, "But that's where Rory's team comes in." Lexa looks over to the blonde in shock when she speaks of there being a fifth team, "If she and a few others can distract the soldiers trying to get the backup generator working then we'll have more time. But they will be far back shooting arrows from above." She nods at the dark-haired girl, "Our window depends on them."

"Small window, think you can do it?" Sergeant Miller asks Rory.

Rory turns to him and smiles, "My dad didn't steal the Ark's only bow to have me fail at archery now." She looks back at Clarke, "We can do it."

"As the commander said, once the door is open, shooting will start. And they'll throw everything they have at us. But that's what we want. We want them looking at us because while we're fighting at the front door...Indra's team will be escorting the prisoners out the back, right through the Reaper tunnels. Once all our people are free, they'll sound the retreat. We'll be back home before Mount Weather even knows they're gone." She looks back to Lexa, "And that's it. That's the plan."

Lexa steps forward into the middle of the tent, "The mountain has cast a show over these woods for too long. They've hunted us, controlled us...turned us into monsters. That ends today. Thanks to our alliance with the Sky People, the mountain will fall. As Clark said, we spare the innocent. As for the guilty...jus drein jus daun…"

The grounders all start to chant it and everyone joins in, even the warriors outside. They leave for the entrance while Rory moves away with four warriors, Zorea among them, and prepare to shoot whoever tries to enter the door to the backup generator. Rory hides among the bushes above the door while the others wait down below. She glances to the better bow in her good hand that had been given to her when Zorea saw the makeshift one she made. She had to admit she liked it better.

Before they knew it, night begins to fall and Clarke begins to pace. "It's taking too long." She stops beside Lexa.

"It takes as long as it takes." Lexa says before she looks at the ground, "What will you do when it's over?" She asks the blonde.

"I...have no idea." Clarke says.

"Well, what do you want?" Lexa asks her.

Clarke stays quiet as she thinks, "Nothing...I don't know...my people back?" She turns to Lexa, "What about you?"

Lexa keeps her eyes trained on the ground as she thinks back, "I wanted to bring Rory to our capital. Help her learn about Nightbloods. I still do...but she made her choice." The Commander looks back up at the door.

"What choice?" The blonde questions.

"She's going to return to the Ark with you and your people...her people." Lexa says, swallowing a lump in her throat.

Clarke furrows her brows in confusion, "She told me she was leaving altogether. Going somewhere far away from everyone." The blonde glances back to where Rory and her team had gone.

That's when gunshots are heard and Grounders yell in the distance. At the backup generator, Rory was shooting arrows at Mountain Men that had come out of the woodworks. The rest of her team were charging to them, either not making it and dying before they do or reaching the soldiers to manage to kill some of them. Over time, most of the soldiers they sent out were dead when more enter the area. "Shit…" Rory curses as she concentrates firing on the new soldiers.

They manage to kill them all again before Rory jumps down off the ledge above the door just as more gunfire is heard ahead, "That's near the front door." Zorea states as she notices the power going off.

"They're trying to prevent them from exploding the lock." Rory says as she runs towards the gunshots.

Zorea groans in annoyance, "Stay here. Make sure no one gets to the generator." She orders the others and follows after the Natblida.

An explosion goes off soon afterward which tells them that the lock of the front door had been destroyed but Rory keeps moving towards the ridge until she was behind them and stops by some rocks with Zorea and looks to her, "Let's do this." She says.

"Right behind you, Natblida." Zorea grips her sword tighter as she prepares to fight.

Rory climbs up onto the rock before she kneels down behind the one atop it to provide Zorea with cover fire. The Mountain Men all turn their attention to the two females when the first three arrows are shot into some soldiers. They start to shoot her way, making her duck down behind the rock as she hears Zorea's cry of pain. She appears on the other side of the rock as she hits the ground with a bullet wound in her head. Rory doesn't waste any time before leaning over the rock to fire more arrows. Only five Mountain Men remain when Rory runs out of arrows. She curses and ducks down as they start to advance on her.

But they stop when Grounders suddenly surround them and Lexa appears, "Who killed all your men?" She asks one of them.

He looks over to the rock that Rory was now stood up from, "She did." The Grounders bind him with rope, "She's a natural-born angel of death." He spats before they take him away.

Lexa watches as Rory climbs down from the rock before kneeling next to Zorea, " _Your fight is over, Zorea of the Ice Nation._ " Rory speaks softly, having learned those words from Zorea herself after the acid fog had been disabled, and closes her eyelids.

"Mourn her after we win." Lexa says as she holds out her hand to Rory, ignoring the fact that she just learned Zorea was Ice Nation.

She takes the Commander's hand, "I know." Rory states before leaving to join the others at the front.

She gets there just as they open the front door but she stops when Lexa yells, " _Stand down!_ " Everyone looks at the Commander.

Rory furrows her brow when Lexa brings the tied up man with her to the door, "Lexa, what're you doing?" The dark-haired girl asks.

"What is this?" Clarke soon asks after Rory when she comes to stand beside her.

Lexa doesn't answer as someone says people were starting to come out and the Grounders within Mount Weather all file out with blankets covering them, "You didn't…" Rory looks back to the Commander.

"They're surrendering?" Clarke asks, not quite understanding what Rory does.

"Not quite." The tied up man says.

Clarke looks from him to Lexa, "What did you do?" The blonde asks.

"What you would have done." Lexa says.

"She made a deal." Rory looks to the man, "With the Mountain Men."

"What deal?" Clarke asks.

"A deal to save my people without more bloodshed." Lexa states as she looks between the two.

"Where are my people?" Clarke asks, not seeing any of them coming out.

Lexa sighs, "I'm sorry, Clarke." She glances over to Rory, "They weren't part of the deal."

Lexa turns to the man and cuts his bindings, "You made the right choice, Commander." He moves to leave before he looks at Rory who returns his gaze with a stern glare, "See you around, killer."

Rory keeps watching the man leave even as Lincoln comes up, "What is this?" He asks while Rory's eyes meet that of one of the prisoners.

They stare at each other for a moment, "Your Commander's made a deal." Clarke answers him.

"What about the prisoners from the Ark?" Lincoln questions, no one noticing that Rory had disappeared.

"They'll all be killed." Clarke states, "But you don't care about that, do you?" The blonde asks.

"I do care, Clarke. They're Rory's people too, but I made this choice with my head, not my heart. The duty to protect my people comes first." Lexa says with guilt filling her veins, but she pushes it down.

"Please, don't do this." Clarke steps forward.

"I'm sorry, Clarke." The Commander says.

"Commander, not like this. We can fight." Lincoln states.

"No, the deal is done." Lexa says.

The door closes and that's when they notice that Rory is nowhere to be seen, "She went in.." The prisoner who had been staring at Rory states to the three.

"No…" Clarke whispers as she turns to the door.

At this, Lexa felt rage fill her veins, " _Warriors, with me!_ " She starts to leave and grabs a warrior with a horn, " _Tell those in the mines that we are coming._ "

The warrior nods and blows his horn, "What are you doing?" Clarke asks Lexa as she leaves towards the mines with Lincoln trailing behind them.

"I'm breaking the deal." Lexa says and looks to Clarke, "I'm not letting them kill her."

A small part of the army then marches to the mines behind the Commander and Skaikru's leader.

 ** _To Be Continued…_**

 ** _A/N: Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _TEN:_ _Battle For Mount Weather 2_**

Rory had silently followed the man Lexa let back in with her bow drawn, having grabbed some more arrows off of another warrior before she snuck inside. She knew that the last they heard everyone was on Level Five so when the man grabs a few soldiers and takes them up an elevator, she takes the stairs. She reaches the door to the level and opens it, almost going around the corner until she notices an entire patrol heading her way. Four soldiers. Only one of her. _I've fought greater odds. Come on, don't fail me now skills..._ Rory thinks to herself as she looks over at Fenrir when she notices him.

She was about to ask what he was doing and how he had gotten here but doesn't comment, "Ready?" Rory asks instead.

Fenrir nods in reply and Rory is the first to attack as she pulls back an arrow then lets it loose as it hits one of the four straight in the chest, making him fall onto the ground dead. The other soldiers spring into action while she lets an another arrow loose, killing the closest soldier. Fenrir runs down the hall, dodging bullets as he takes out one with his hatchet. The last one left gets an arrow lodged in his head when his dark-haired companion comes out of hiding. She freezes for a moment when she hears screams coming from around the corner and quickly grabs the first radio she sees on one of the soldiers so she could keep track of their movements. Fenrir follows after the girl as she moves through the fifth level until they stop when they get closer to the screams and two guards walk into a room.

"She's next-"

Someone protests before she hears Raven yelling followed by the sound of drilling. She grits her teeth in annoyance when she looks into the room to find her friends and others she knew from the Ark all chained to the wall while people dressed in white coats drill into Raven's leg for bone marrow. Rage fills her veins but she makes no move as she checks her arrows. _Only three left..._ She thinks to herself and looks inside to count the guards. _Ten of them. Shit…_ She hits her the back of her head against the wall before the radio she stole from one of the soldiers sparks to life and she quickly grabs it, turning it down as she overhears Clarke and someone named Cage speaking. Rory looks up at one of the cameras before going to a channel no one was using. She gets the camera's attention and puts the radio up to it, trying to tell Clarke to radio her.

" _Rory?!_ " Clarke and Lexa yell from the radio.

She stares at the radio, "Lexa, what're you doing in the mountain?" Rory says in disbelief before turning to look inside the dorm room.

" _I came back for you._ " Lexa speaks through the radio.

Rory feels her heart swell but she pushes the feeling down when she sees the people moving around, "Listen, I'm right outside the dorm room on Level Five." She says.

" _We see you._ " She hears Bellamy say.

"What's the plan?" Rory asks them.

" _I'm going to see if Cage will break. Until then, stay out of their line of sight and wait for my command._ " Clarke tells her.

"Copy that."

Rory looks around for a place to hide and finds a small corner behind some kind of machine. She only peeks her head out when Cage comes around the corner to enter the dorm room. She watches as he tells them to take Raven off the table and put Abby on. Her eyes widen before she leaves her radio behind the machine as she runs back over to the dead soldiers, grabbing one of their guns. She makes her way to the dorm room. "Time to do something really fucking stupid." She mumbles to herself and grips the large gun when Abby's screams fill her ears. She pauses when she looks inside to see them bringing in Jasper, "Fuck it."

Rory walks in, shooting each guard until only the two holding Jasper and some scientists were left, "Rory!" Nate Miller yells her name and soon everyone joins him.

"Let. Him. Go." The guards don't move a muscle, "Do it now or I blow your brains out. Either way, he's getting released. The only difference is if you live or not." She aims the gun at their heads, switching between the two.

They exchange a glance before they let him go, "Rory, thank god you're okay." Marcus says from his spot chained on the wall.

Rory motions to her people locked up, "Uncuff them." The two guards each work to release the others.

Some of the adults pick up guns that were left beside the dead soldiers she killed which allows her to unrestrain Abby from the table, "Where's Clarke?" Abby asks as Rory helps her sit up.

"She's okay. She's at the command center." Rory tells Abby until she notices a man by some scientists in the corner wearing a suit.

"That's Cage." Abby tells her.

Rory didn't know what came over her as she leaves the gun on the table with Abby before grabbing the man out of the group and punching him to the ground. She gets a few good ones in before Nate and Jasper pull her away, telling her he's not worth it. She struggles against their grips until the guards start to cough when burns begin to welt onto their skin. Nate and Jasper let her go while they watch the soldiers fall to the ground and die. " _Rory?_ " Clarke's voice comes from one of the soldier's radios and she moves to grab it, " _Rory?!_ "

"Clarke, what did you do?" Rory asks as she puts the radio up to her mouth while the others help the wounded to stand.

"Maya…" Jasper whispers and runs out of the room.

" _I did what I had to...to save them._ " Rory looks around for Cage only to find the spot where he once was empty. She leaves Marcus with the radio and moves after the man once she sees him disappear around a corner, running up a long flight of stairs that lead to an open door. Rory runs through but couldn't spot him in the darkness. Until she hears a man's scream and goes after it.

"The first dose is the worst." She hears Lincoln's voice while a man starts to stutter.

Rory comes running past a tree just in time to see Cage die and Lincoln drop something on him, "Well that takes care of that." She mumbles.

Lincoln looks up at her when Fenrir arrives at her side, "Come on, we should go." Rory shakes her head when he turns around.

"I'm not going back." Rory tells him and he furrows his brow.

"Why not? Everyone is expecting you to." Lincoln looks at the girl, "Even the Commander."

"I...lied to them...I just can't be there right now...not for a while." Rory glances down, feeling regret bubble up.

Lincoln doesn't argue with her as he gives the girl a hug, "Don't venture too far away. Who knows if your people might need you again." He jokes before pulling away from her.

"I'm sure I won't go that far. But thank you…" She pauses, "Make sure Raven and Octavia don't spend the time that I'm away trying to find me?" Rory watches Lincoln reply with a small nod and the two grab each other's arm in a final goodbye before he lets Rory go, watching her disappear into the forest.

"May we meet again, Rory of the Sky People."

Rory doesn't reply back as she walks to the entrance leading into Mount Weather and stops when she sees Lexa. She shakes her head though, walking directly past the Commander until Lexa stops her by grabbing the girl's arm. Green searches grey before Lexa's lips suddenly claim Rory's in a chaste kiss. Rory doesn't react right away but she then tangles her hand in the Commander's braids as she deepens the kiss. Lexa's hand comes to rest against the dark-haired girl's cheek as they pull away from each other. The kiss ends just as quickly as it had begun. "Don't leave…" Lexa whispers so softly that Rory thought she almost didn't say it. She was about to reply when Grounders walk out of the entrance to Mount Weather, making them separate. Lexa turns around to look at her warriors and makes sure they were alright before glancing back to where Rory was. Only to find empty space.

And that's when Lexa's own heart shattered.

 ** _A/N: The next few chapters are based in the three months between season two and three. I know you probably all hate me now, but let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited and rewritten.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _ELEVEN:_ _Bear_**

 _A week later…_

Rain drops hit her face as she looks among the trees around her for anything that could tell her where she was headed. She knows that she was still in Trikru territory after seeing the symbol of the clan on a stone or two, but she had gotten lost trying to figure out which direction she wanted to take. Besides the threat of predators and the cold, it was nearly pitch black outside which meant Rory had to find shelter soon and build a fire or she'd freeze to death. So to put it lightly, the dark-haired girl believed she was officially screwed. Where was Lincoln's map when she needed it? Oh wait, it was back with her people because she didn't bother to ask for a copy of it.

Rory almost thanked whatever god was out there as she spots a cave up ahead. She grabs some sticks on the way to it, making sure not to grab any wet ones, and then makes her way inside. The cave was small; no extra tunnels leading into out or in so she wouldn't have anything sneaking up on her during her sleep. She sets up the sticks after putting her bag down then she starts to build a fire. A quick flick of her wrist with two rocks causes sparks to ignite into big orange flames. "Thank you, Charles Pike." Rory laughs at herself as she blows on the fire to make it get bigger.

She sits against the wall, pulling the jacket she's had on since she had been captured by Kieran closer to her body. The fire heats up the rest of her body as she stares into the different hues of orange. Rory never spent any time thinking about what she had done in that mountain. Those people she killed...she felt nothing for them. The only thing she felt was... _numb_. The last time she had this feeling was after her father's death. However, back then she had Clarke, Wells, Raven, and… _Finn_. Rory could barely say his name now after...killing him. Tears start falling down her face and she hugs her knees to her chest.

"I'm so sorry…" She closes her eyes tightly as his face appears in her thoughts. Why did they have to land on Earth at this time? Why couldn't the Ark have waited another hundred years? Maybe then they wouldn't be in this mess. They wouldn't be dealing with these Grounders. She wouldn't have met...Lexa. Her and her stupid mantras about how love is weakness. What was so bad about love? Sure, it hurt just as much as it was great, but it wasn't that bad. She supposes it could be because the Commander was raised that way, so was it Rory's fault then for not realizing that and falling for someone she couldn't have? Perhaps love _was_ weakness, but it's also the only thing that has made Rory strong.

She lets out a large sigh while she wipes her face, "Enough being depressed, Rory. Time to sleep." She says to herself and uses her pack as a pillow as she lies down.

Letting sleep overtake her.

* * *

When Rory woke up, it was midday.

She sits up as she fetches an apple out of her bag, something she had traded for a while back after she passed through Polis. Rory munches on it as she thinks of her day spent there. She could've run into any of the Grounders she knew, but she didn't. Lexa was at the top of that tower while Rory stayed as far away as possible. She still wasn't ready to face the Commander after what she had said...or even after that kiss. Sighing, Rory finishes her apple and puts out the fire as she grabs her bag. She throws the core over her shoulder. _Back onto the road_...She thinks to herself as she steps out of the cave, only to come face to face with a bear hovering over a dead deer nearby. "Oh crap..."

The bear sniffs the air as it stares at her which allows the girl to notice the burn scars marring half of its face while the other remains intact. She doesn't move or show her fear when it moves closer, forgetting about its kill at seeing the human come out of its home. Rory watches the bear stand on its hind legs before he roars and raises his left paw to swipe at her. She barely rolls out of the way when she throws her bag to the side as its claws tear at the base of her neck up to her jaw but she ignores the pain just in time to dodge another attack. It grows angry at seeing her still alive so it roars again then falls back onto all four legs to charge at her.

A blur of light brown speeds out of the bushes behind the bear and lands on top of the creature. Rory recognizes the blur as a wolf, remembering the animal species from a book they had on Ark about Earth. The wolf bites down into the bear's neck while it tries to knock the other creature off. It succeeds and sends the wolf flying through the air against a tree as a whine falls from its mouth. The human girl takes this time to search for her bag until she spots it nearby. She reaches it to look inside at the contents when the bear starts to advance on the injured wolf. Finding a knife, Rory quickly grabs it then she throws it perfectly into the bear's head.

It falls onto its side just mere inches away from the wolf with her knife sticking out of its skull. She sighs in relief before her attention turns to the light-brown wolf when it stands up slowly. The girl moves over to retrieve her weapon as its forest-green eyes watch her closely. Rory wasn't an expert on anything animal-related so she wasn't sure how to proceed after killing a bear with a wolf's help. She goes back over to her bag and fetches a piece of meat she bought from Polis for her trip then she glances back over to the waiting animal with a gulp. With careful caution, the girl kneels a few feet away from the wolf with her hand outstretched holding the meat as a peace offering.

She's surprised when the wolf takes it softly only to frown when it disappears into the bushes again. _At least it didn't attack me..._ Now that her adrenaline was gone, Rory winces at the stinging pain in her neck. "Ow...I'm never messing with a bear again..." The girl gathers her things and packs them back into her bag as she chooses a direction to go in.

Hoping that it would be the right one.

 _A/N:_ _So now for the next few chapters it will not follow any sort of storyline from the show. Until we reach the end of the three month marker that will be going into season 3. Let me know what you think!_

 _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_

 _~QueenOfSerpents27~_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been rewritten and edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _TWELVE:_ _Ice Nation_**

Rory had lost track of time the moment she saw snow falling around her. She was too mesmerized by the wet and cold substance to notice that someone had snuck up behind her until something hit the back of her head. When she came to, she was chained to a wall with the worst headache imaginable on top of stinging from the claw wound on her neck. Even after she woke up, only a guard or two would come in to give her food and water or to allow her to relieve herself. Days could have passed for all she knew without a single word being spoken to her. None of the men who came in answered her questions and their faces were covered so she wouldn't be able to tell what clan they belonged to.

However, she kind of gets her answer when a girl around her age enters the cell for the first time. She carried with her a tray filled with several sharp objects but even she says nothing as Rory pushes and pushes for her to talk...she pays for that after a knife meets her skin. This girl seemed used to causing pain to other people with the way she would watch her fight to hold in her pain. When she's not satisfied by that, she moves behind the dark-haired girl to cut open the back of her shirt. She didn't know what to expect until the sharp-end of a whip cracks against her back. This went on for some time since Rory wasn't able to hold back her screams and whimpers with this type of torture. Eventually, the girl stops before she has a few guards unchain her. They carry her out of the cell into another room filled to the brim with cages of people and the two guards toss her into one where a woman stood inside near the farthest wall.

A day passes after that. She came to learn the woman's name was Edyn after she lends her a spare shirt when seeing the state of the girl's. Some of her cuts had starts to scab over while others remained open even as a healer came by a few times to put something on the wounds so they could heal quicker. "Hey, Natblida. Wake up." The dark-haired girl turns to look over at Edyn with a glare.

But she stops when she notices that the guards were looking into the cells and she gets up with a struggle, "What's happening?" Rory asks.

"The Arena. Queen Nia is looking for the strong." A man says from his cell beside them.

"But this early? I thought you said she wasn't going to look for anyone until a week later?" Rory asks as she looks over at her cellmate.

Edyn narrows her eyes, "Clearly Nia wants to speed things up." She growls under her breath.

Rory swallows her reply when a guard comes by, " _Her._ " The guard says as he points to Edyn, " _And those two._ " He gestures to Rory and the man, Wyrm, was his name.

The other guards with him unlock their cells and push them along the path to join the other five prisoners already in a line facing the door that was far away from their cell and where they took the prisoners to be tortured. Rory puts her jacket on once a cold breeze hits her skin as she looks around at the other prisoners until she sees a familiar platinum blonde-haired man. "Fenrir?" He turns to her at the sound of her name.

He grows a smile, "Rory of the Sky People." Fenrir comes to stand by her, "It's nice to see you again." He says.

" _Be quiet back there!_ " A man who Rory recognizes as one of the wardens yells as he comes to stand at the front of the line. Fenrir and Rory exchange a glance as he leads the eight prisoners out of the Compound toward a very tall wall that seemed to drag on for miles until she eventually saw that it curves into a circle. She breathes uneasily at the sight of the arena, not caring that her wounds still hurt as she is handed a sword. She barely knew how to use one but it was the only weapon being given to them. A woman with scars on her face joins them, standing off to the side. It didn't take her very long to see that she was obviously this 'Queen Nia', nor for her to realize just where she was.

Ice Nation.

" _Azgeda Prisoners, you have been chosen to participate in my arena. If you survive, you will earn the title of being my Protathlitís. Which none have been for a long time._ " She says to the prisoners in their language as Fenrir translates for her.

"What is a Protathlitís?" Rory whispers to him.

"It means champion." He replies.

" _Let them in._ "

The Warden nods to the Queen but Nia ignores his reply to her as she disappears into the arena. The prisoners are each led to eight different doors that they are meant to enter individually. The doors slide up as they are pushed through; Rory more hesitant than the others as the door closes behind her. She grips the handle of her sword tightly, gulping while she slowly walks down the small hallway. Cheers come from beyond another door that looked as if it was controlled from elsewhere. She could hear the clanking of swords hitting each other until it stops and the cheers grow louder.

Rory sits down against the wall as another fight begins.

Hours pass by until her door starts to creak open. Rory holds her hand above her head when the light from outside blinds her. Once her eyes adjust and she walks out, she looks upon the field with horror. Red blood coats the snow covering the arena. And laying among it were the bodies of the prisoners. She knew one of them whose name was Aretha and...Fenrir. At the center of it all was a large figure. She couldn't tell if it was a man or something else.

The figure had on a body of very heavy armor and, as Rory creeps closer, she notices the two glowing red eyes inside the slits in his helmet, which had two horns extending from the top. She steps up to him finally as she notices how he seemed to grip his weapon tightly at her presence. Queen Nia stands up from her perch above the crowd before raising her hand and letting it fall fast which prompts the man to charge at her. She manages to step out of the way but he just twists and hits her with the hilt of his sword, making her hit the ground hard. Images of that girl torturing her flash through her mind as her wounds spark in pain. This gives the man the time to discard his weapon and roll her onto her back as he begins to take advantage of her distraction. He begins to push his hand against her ribs with all his strength and the intention of breaking them while the crowd cheers.

Rory yells in pain as she definitely hears a snap while the man watches her, enjoying her screams. The dark-haired girl grits her teeth in pain as her fingers reach out for anything to hit him with. Her hand grasps the handle of her sword before she struggles slightly against his strength and thrusts the sword straight into his gut which causes him to stumble away from her. She gets up slowly in pain and rushes at him, hitting the hilt of her sword with a kick. It goes further into his gut as he makes a noise before falling onto his back. Rory stands there and breathes heavily while the crowds remain silent. She barely even notices that Nia gets up from her perch and walks over to the edge.

After a moment of silence from her, Nia glances among her people, " _Hail the new Champion!_ " The crowds begin to cheer at her words.

All Rory could do was glance among the crowds at the many faces of Ice Nation people.

 _What now?_

* * *

After the arena fight and the defeat of Nia's previous champion, the prisoners had been returned to their cells. All except for Rory. She was currently sat in the previous champion's room on the bed with a healer tending to her wounds. She didn't know what being Nia's champion meant now, but it was nothing she could change. The girl just hoped it meant less torture. Her thoughts are interrupted when a knock sounds at the door and it opens to reveal a guard who announces the arrival of the Queen.

Nia easily steps into the room as the healer continues his work, " _Leave us._ " She orders the healer.

The healer quickly leaves, not wanting to disobey his Queen while Rory remains quiet as Nia walks over to her. "So, you are now my Champion. Do you understand what this entails?" Nia watches Rory shake her head and rolls her eyes, "Of course, not. It means you are to perform in the arena against the other prisoners whenever I wish it. It's clear that you have no combat training but that could be provided...if will you accept an offer." She raises her brow, "Join Azgeda, that is all I ask."

Rory narrows her eyes as she could clearly see that Nia wasn't telling the whole truth. What would it mean for her if she does this? If she betrays her people by becoming Azgeda? She could never ever be like them. Cruel and more of the savages that her mother thought all the Grounders were. She almost considers telling Nia no until her thoughts turn to the people in the cages downstairs. Perhaps she could save them in some way? It was a quick, stupid plan. But it was a plan.

"Fine." Nia raises her brows at the Natblida's words, "I'll join your people. On one condition." Rory says.

"Which is what?" Nia asks, willing to do anything to get another Nightblood on her side to ensure that Ice Nation rules Polis.

A voice rang in her head. One that she could never forget.

 _You did what a leader would. Not an outcast. Then start being one._

Rory stands up and makes sure there is every bit of stubbornness in her voice, "The prisoners Edyn and Wyrm will come to no harm while I fight for you, serve you, and possibly die for you. Those...are my terms. And if you cannot meet them, then you may as well kill me." A swell of pride fills her when she spots the slightest sliver of surprise in Nia's eyes.

A minute goes by as the Queen contemplates the girl's conditions, "Very well. Your friends will be unharmed. But those emotions of yours will have to go away or you will be unfit to be my Champion..or even a Commander." Nia says before she leaves.

Her words confuse Rory as she leaves, shutting the door. What did she mean by Commander? Shaking her head, a sigh escapes her lips as she sits back down on the bed.

 _That went...well._

 ** _A/N: Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Review, Favorite, and Follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 ** _THIRTEEN:_ _Broken_**

It had barely been a day before Nia threw Rory into the arena.

She didn't know what to expect when she could barely fight, but she did it anyway. She had to keep up her end of the bargain so that Nia wouldn't hurt Edyn and Wyrm. Killing a few other prisoners was something she just had to do. So Rory stood exactly where the previous Champion did and she killed seven out of the eight prisoners chosen that day. Two of them nearly killed her but she was quicker and smaller, making them run out of energy when all she did was dodge.

But nothing prepared her for the eighth prisoner.

Her name was Chloe Hester; a girl that was Rory's age and someone she knew from the Ark. However, not just anyone, it was the first girl that gave the dark-haired girl the inkling that she liked other girls. They weren't friends, never were, but lovers would be the more correct term. She even still had small feelings for Chloe. So when she caught sight of those familiar blue eyes and red hair, she wanted to drop her sword right then and there.

"Rory?!" Chloe ran to her to hug the girl, but Rory stops her inches away.

She looks up to Nia and sees that the Queen was intrigued by the outburst, "Chloe, how are you here?" Rory whispers.

"Our part of the Ark crashed in the snow. Wherever this is." Chloe explains, "She captured some of us." She gestures to Nia, "What the hell is going on?" She asks.

"The Arena." Rory glances around, "Queen Nia's way of sorting out the strong from the weak. So she knows who to break more." She looks down, "I won't kill you. But one of us has to die."

Without thinking, Chloe shakes her head, "No. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself. I won't kill you either." She steps towards Rory and aims the sword the other girl was holding to her chest, "Survive, sparky."

Rory couldn't do it. All she saw instead of Chloe was Finn and the sword in her hand suddenly changed into the scalpel. Her hand begins to shake when tears threaten to spill over but she pushes that down once Nia rises from her chair to yell at them. She tells them to kill one or the other otherwise she will kill both of them, but she only stares up at the Queen. Chloe doesn't hesitate to pretend to swing at her as she acts rather than thinks and grabs Chloe's arm to stop it when she feels the tip of her sword go through the redhead's gut. Red blood began to spill onto her right hand as the other girl falls back onto the ground. Rory lets go of her sword while her eyes lock onto her hand. What had she done? She falls to her knees in the cold snow while the crowds cheer at their new Champion being victorious. But all Rory could do was stare at her bloody fingers.

 _No…_

Rory barely registers that some guards were now dragging her into the Compound where they take her into the torture room. Nia comes in furious, yelling at the girl that she couldn't even kill someone from Skaikru, the ones she abandoned. All Rory does is hang her head low while the girl who tortured her before, Ontari, rips off the girl's jacket. She doesn't even scream or show any signs of pain when the cutting begins. Not even when the feeling of burning does.

Because she had slipped past the point of being broken.

* * *

That night as she lay in the Champion's room, she could not sleep.

The memories of Finn and Chloe both dying would appear every time she closed her eyes. She resorted to tearing open her old wounds and making her new ones worse. She needed to feel...something. Anything. But not even pain wanted to grace her with its presence that night. Her black blood soaked the bedsheets and her fingers. Maybe if she bled out and died the world would be better off without her. Her people would be better off without her once they hear that she's killed another one of them. What happens if Nia brings in more? Would she be able to face them? Rory didn't know. If this is what Nia meant by closing off her feelings, well it worked. No tears spilled that night over Chloe Hester. Not even as morning came and Rory hadn't even spent a minute asleep. But the healer came in, she knew that much, when he yells at her for opening her wounds. She didn't care. Nothing mattered to her anymore. Nothing.

When the healer left, her mind drifted away to dreams of darkness and a voice she felt herself longing for invades them. She never should've left Lexa standing there in front of Mount Weather. Perhaps she shouldn't have left at all...but what would happen if she had? She wouldn't be here, that much is certain. Rory would be safe. Safe among people who can protect her. Here? She was a sheep among savage wolves that didn't think twice about killing before asking. So that night while she lay in bed looking at the ceiling, she made a choice. One to become a predator instead of hiding like prey and she hoped that it wouldn't ruin her altogether.

That the killing wouldn't change her.

 ** _A/N: Poor Rory._**

 ** _Review, fav, and follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hi! This chapter has been edited.**

 **Without further adieu:**

 **I only own my OCs and this storyline, the dialogue and events from the show belong to their respective owners.**

 **Sentences like _this_ in quotations are grounders, or anyone, speaking in Trigedasleng. Other sentences in the same form are thoughts.**

 **P.S: I am trying a new writing layout. Let me know if you like it or prefer the previous.**

 ** _~Enjoy!~_**

* * *

 **FOURTEEN: _Escape_**

 _Three weeks later..._

The sound of someone's screams awakes Rory, reminding her of the horror that lay beyond the walls of the cell she was being kept in. Her arms had gone numb after being held by the chains hooked up to the ceiling for so long and she attempts to move but stops at the burning in her hand as she glances up at the cuff around her right wrist, wincing when she notices the raw skin gathered there from her struggles.

She lets out a small sigh of defeat, deciding against trying to release herself while she thinks about her torturers. Even after signing herself over to the Ice Nation and proclaiming herself as one of them, she was still seen as an outsider. Nia would ultimately be the one to decide when she was ready to be treated otherwise. Since then, Rory had been subjected to all forms of torture from both the Queen herself and Ontari after another mishap with one of the guards during her training with Echo, an Ice Nation warrior who was saved from Mount Weather.

Several cries of pain interrupt her thoughts but they didn't last for long and soon Rory hears a body being dragged in the hall outside the room. _Please don't be Wyrm...or Edyn_...Shaking her head from those thoughts, the girl decides to brave the pain in her arms as she starts trying to loosen the chain hooks again. However, her attempts are cut short when she hears the door jingle before Ontari walks into the room. She shuts the door with a slam once she sees her attempting to escape. "Foolish, girl. The Queen will not be happy with this, natblida."

Rory swallows when the other nightblood walks behind her to grab the keys for the chains. She reaches up and unlocks her from the chains, keeping her cuffs tight around the girl's wrists while she shoves her towards the tub in the corner. Ontari grabs a fist full of her hair before dunking her head into the ice-cold water. A smirk makes its way onto the older girl's face when she began to struggle in her grip. It wasn't enough for Ontari to let go, though. When Rory thinks that sweet death might finally grace her, the other girl rips her out of the water, watching as she goes into coughing fits. Ontari furrowed her brows when she hears a guard yell from just outside the doorway which allows the dark-haired girl enough time to recover and take advantage of the nightblood's moment of weakness to knee her stomach.

Rory wraps the chain connecting her cuffs around the girl's neck from behind as she uses most of the strength she had left to ensure that Ontari wouldn't be able to pry her away. As seconds tick by, she feels the other girl fall limp in her arms. The dark-haired girl removes the chain from Ontari's neck to check for a pulse, breathing in relief when she finds one before she grabs the keys that were stashed in her coat pocket. Rory unlocks her cuffs, wincing at the sight of her red skin from the metal that had dug into her wrists. She leaves the handcuffs by Ontari when she grabs a knife off the older girl's belt and she walks over to the door. The girl opens the door softly, grasping the hilt of the knife in her hand tightly. She didn't want to kill anyone but she also couldn't afford to be thinking about taking the lives of the people here. She just had to...do it. They hurt her and those she befriended in the cells below and they kill those who are weaker than them. Good people. That was more than enough reason to slaughter every last one of them...right?

She hears a guard yell at her before charging down the hall with his ax raised high. Rory meets him halfway, butting the knife hilt against his nose hard enough that he falls onto his back. The girl raises the knife and slams it down into his skull quickly when another guard comes around the corner. He slides his machete out of its sheath but Rory was quicker as she throws it at him just in time. He falls to the floor with the knife in his forehead. Hearing more guards coming down the hall behind her, she runs over to the second guard she dispatched and tears the knife out of his head before running around the corner he had come from. An alarm in the form of a bell begins to ring in the distance causing the girl to curse as she barrels into a closed door, ignoring the pain she receives from the impact once it was open. Snowflakes hit her face instantly along with the cold, winter air that she pushes through to head into the cover of a heavy snowfall.

She shields her eyes with her left arm, grasping onto Ontari's knife tightly as she ventures further and further away from Nia's compound. The sound of guards yelling slowly disappears behind her when she enters what seems to be a forest. Rory couldn't tell since she could hardly see a thing through the snow but she had to keep going. Nia's warriors wouldn't stop their searches in the heavy blizzard wreaking havoc all around her, especially if they didn't want to be tortured by the Queen herself after her return from Polis. She nearly stops in her tracks at the thought of the Grounder capital. She wonders if Lexa even knew that Queen Nia had captured her. Probably not since she knows that the only person Nia is scared of was the Commander herself. Nia most likely wouldn't have told Lexa after hearing about how close she is to Rory. She could band all the clans against Azgeda if she found out. Well, not that she really could. Some may disagree with the Commander and the coalition would break then and there the moment Lexa waged war on Ice Nation.

The nightblood might have to kill the queen herself if she truly wants to escape Nia's clutches. She wouldn't be able to she thinks, though. The Queen of Azgeda has been expecting her betrayal from the very beginning. She never trusted her, nor did Ontari. The only one who trusts her in that hell structure was…Rory stops in her tracks suddenly as a figure appears from behind the tree before her, taking their hood off as they raise the torch in their hand. "Echo?" She looks the archer up and down for a moment until the sound of Nia's guards catching up to her fills the air. Their eyes meet in a silent agreement when Echo grabs the girl's arm quickly to lead her in another direction. Rory pretends not to notice that the woman had seen her cuts and most likely the bruises that aligned her arms as well. She was glad she made no comment, though, while she takes the lead through the rest of the forest.

"This way." Echo's voice comes out in a whisper as she guides both of them to the edge of the treeline where a small shack stood strong in the blizzard near a cliff. The dark-haired girl behind her narrows her eyes cautiously while the archer immediately walks up to the door and opens it without caring who may be within. She pulls her inside before placing a bar over it, securing the door from any outside breaches. Echo turns around with the expectation of finding Rory fine only to see the young nightblood with a knife to her throat. " _Hera_ _! It's okay!_ " The owner of the knife, Hera, only pushes the blade into her neck.

Hera stands in Rory's face but the woman didn't move to release her even after Echo pleads with her. She hides her wince when it cuts into her slightly as the woman eyes the black liquid oozing out of the wound. Rory was far from surprised when the woman lets her go with a grunt once she sees it, turning to glare at Echo. " _You said she wasn't from the Sky Clan. Her face does not resemble that of Ice Nation._ "

" _I know but I needed you to believe she was Ice Nation. You would have never agreed to take her in otherwise._ "

Hera sneers at the archer for a moment before looking back at the girl and the state of her person. She sighs once as she turns to Echo. " _She stays for one night. Then she goes._ " She motions to a chair nearby for Rory to sit in while she walks towards a shelf near the back wall to gather some bandages laced with healing herbs. Rory looks over to Echo who nods and she takes the seat she was offered when Hera joins the girl at the table, watching as she pulls up her sleeves to reveal her cuts, bruises, and lacerations coming down from her elbow to the marks on her wrists caused by handcuffs. A small part of her felt sorry for the girl.

"What your name?"

Rory's eyes jump up to meet the woman's at the sound of her broken English. She notices the wince that Echo tries to hide out of the corner of her eye. "Rory." The girl speaks lowly but the woman had heard and she hums in response while unraveling the bandages. She barely flinches when the cool texture of the herbs stuck to the cloth pieces hit her cuts. It felt too good to move away from. Hera finishes her work within a minute and then retires to her room for the night while Echo takes a seat by the fire. The archer notices how distraught the nightblood looks when she thought no one else was paying attention to her. "The guards said you knocked out Ontari." A silent nod is the only response that Echo receives but it puts a small smile on her face. "I guess training you paid off." She jokingly chuckles until Rory gets up to lie down on one of the nearby couches.

 _Okay then..._ Echo watches the girl fall asleep and her lips turned into a frown when she hears her steady breathing. If she acts like this after simply knocking someone unconscious, then there would be no hope for her survival in the Conclave. But it wasn't as if her training will stop as soon as she leaves Azgeda. Echo planned on accompanying the young nightblood since she was most likely banished already, so what was the point in going back?

Especially after what she had done to make sure she got out.

* * *

Echo was the last to awake the next morning to find that both Rory and Hera were gone. She wonders where they could be until the archer spots the two outside of the hut by the stables. The woman was showing the younger girl how to properly saddle a horse and how to get on one without the help of someone else. Her sudden kindness towards Rory confuses Echo after the way she acted last night. Something must have happened while she was asleep.

"Here. You here."

Echo hears Hera's broken English slip out lazily while Rory attempts to follow her instructions. " _She can speak in our language, Hera._ " Both of them turn their heads to the archer as she makes her way over to the two. She notices the small smile appear on Hera's face but decides against returning it. It was too late, however, when the dark-haired girl raises her brow at the woman's action.

The girl files the information away for later as she pulls herself up onto the horse with ease. An excited glint appears in her eyes that Echo has never seen on Rory before and she listens to Hera telling her to go slowly. Once Rory was far enough, the woman turns to Echo with her arms crossed over her chest. " _She told me of the Mountain and what happened there. That she was a part of the group who saved you._ " The archer now understood why the two were getting along.

" _She was. It is the only reason I am going with her. I owe that to Bellamy._ " Echo still remembers how the young man reacted to Rory and the blonde, Clarke, leaving. He was devastated, like he lost two parts of himself. So before the archer returned home to Azgeda with the rest of her people, she made a small promise to herself to repay the man who helped her escape. When she found Rory held captive among the rest of Nia's prisoners, she knew she'd be able to do just that as well as help the girl get back to her people.

" _Good. She needs a friend after what Nia put her through. I assume you will be traveling with her to Polis?_ " Echo furrows her brow, confused as to why Rory would want to go to the Grounder capital until she remembers the way Lexa acted after hearing the girl had gone into the mountain weeks ago. They clearly had feelings for each other otherwise the Commander wouldn't have risked her people to save her after making that deal. Arms suddenly wrap around her midriff as Hera hugs her tightly. " _Just...come back in one piece, alright sister?_ " The archer sighs and reluctantly returns the gesture.

Only the future knows what Polis will hold.

 ** _A/N: Hope you enjoyed this little chapter!_**

 ** _Review, fav, and follow! :)_**

 ** _~QueenOfSerpents27~_**


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